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Glass_ L- cb <5 

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( 



4 

J0 

If !' 

,//) ~Jii, 


A Pictorial and Descriptive History 


OF OUR 


Country’s S cen >c riarvels 


AS DELINEATED BY PEN AND CAMERA 

y 


By J. W. BUEL 





3 y y 


The Famous Traveler and America’s most eloquent descriptive writer 


Author of The Beautiful Story, The Story of flan, The Living World, Exile Life in Siberia, Heroes of the Dark Continent, 
. . . . Around the World with the Great Explorers, Sea and Land, The World’s Wonders, Etc., Etc. . . . 


riore than 500 Magnificent Photographic Views 

OF THE 

Majestic Mountains, Bewildering Canons, Beautiful Waterfalls, Curious and Weird Formations, Charming Valleys, Picturesque Lakes, 
Famous Caverns, Spouting Geysers, Colossal Glaciers, and hundreds of other Natural Wonders that render America the 
most famous and beautiful among the Nations of the world. Interspersed with History, Legend, Adventure 
and Entrancing Descriptions of the Marvelous Regions and Natural Wonders embraced within 
. . our vast domain, from Alaska’s frigid clime to Florida’s summerlands. . . 


J. S. ROUND, 

165 Devonshire, = Boston, Mass. 


-> > 
■j i > 






























•.^32. 


Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1893, by 

H. S. SMITH, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 

All rights reserved. 


T ransfer 

Engineers School Liby. 

June 29,1931 


The Engravings in this volume were made 
from original photographs, and are specially pro¬ 
tected by Copyright, and notice is hereby given, 
that any person or persons guilty of reproducing 
or infringing the copyright in any way will be 
dealt with according to law. 










TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

The Sublimely Grand and Incomparable Scenery op 
America. —Picturesque lauds and places of other countries 
—Engagement of a corps of Photographers—Equipment of 
our Camera car—A trip to the Rocky Mountains—Hasty 
resume of the pictorial districts visited—From summer 
climes to Alaska’s glacial shores — Excursions by car, 
stage, donkey and foot—Educational benefits of the tour— 

The work one of patriotic incitement,.6-16 

CHAPTER I. 

Among the Wild Scenes of Colorado. —Through the Gate¬ 
way of the Rockies—Wondrous visions—In the canons of 
Bear Creek—Colossal cleavage of Clear Creek—A sub¬ 
merged forest of petrified trees—Among the clouds—Devil’s 
Gate to Bridal Veil Falls—The Loop at Georgetown—Silver 
Flume—Cornucopias of silver—Over the switchback to 
silver lands—Between towering crags—Terrific convulsions 
of nature—Dome Rock—Invocation of surging waters—The 
highest point ever reached by rail—A marvelous tunnel— 

An astounding view—Through Boulder Canon and into 
North Park—A tour of Estes Park—Visits to Fong’s Peak 
and Bald Mountain—Wild game in savage haunts—Climb¬ 
ing the American Matterhorn—Bewildering prospect from 
the “key-hole”—A trip to Table Mountain and examina¬ 
tion of the glaciers—A journey through Middle Park—A 
story of Grand Fake—Away up on a dizzy brink, . . . 17-40 

CHAPTER II. 

Manitou the Mighty. —Twin cities that sit at the feet of 
Pike’s Peak—A spell of wonderment wrought by the eccen¬ 
tricities of nature—God’s acres of tumultuous stone—The 
story of Major Pike’s discovery—The first ascent of Pike’s 
Peak—The cog-wheel railroad to the summit—A trip to 
cloud-land—The wonderful panorama to be surveyed from 
the peak—A battalion of mountains in review—A storm on 
the mountain—Ute Pass to Cascade Canon—Rainbow Falls 
and Grand Caverns—From the Cave-of-the-Winds down 
William’s Canon—Garden of the Gods—Nature in wild riot 


PAGE 

of gruesome forms and sublime creations—Through Glen 
Eyrie and Monument Park—Witcheries that confound 
imagination—A visit to Cheyenne Canon—Seven Falls— 
Entrancing hymns of nature—Fegends of the Manitou, . 41-62 

CHAPTER III. 

Grand Canons of Western Rivers. —A land of graceful, 
deep-leaping waterfalls—A park of marvelous petrifactions 
—Buena Vista, the beautiful view—Sportsmen’s Paradise—• 
Through Hagerinan Tunnel to Mount of the Holy Cross— 

Grand River Canon—Sixteen miles of natural wonders— 

The Grand Canon of the Colorado—Major Powell’s Trip 
from Green River to Yuma—A perilous journey richly 
recompensed — Flaming Gorge and Horseshoe Canons—• 

Tossed by dangerous rapids into halls and temples carved 
by Titans—In a chasm 7,000 feet deep—Caverns of En¬ 
chantment and walls flecked with rainbow colors—A bor¬ 
derland of phantasy—Cave habitations of an extinct race— 

Story of the hunted refugees—Vermilion Cliffs, Temples of 
the Virgin and Marble Canon—Glories that thrill the heart 
with ecstasy, and fill the soul with reverence, .... 63-84 

CHAPTER IV. 

Marvels of the Great Desert. — Magnificence of the 
scenery along Grand River—From mountain to plain— 
Beautiful Provo Falls—Our great inland sea—Fruitfulness 
of Salt Fake Valley—A wall of mountains around Salt 
Fake—Shores of ancient Fake Bonneville, now America’s 
dead sea—Islands of Salt Fake—The Mormon City and how 
it was founded—Red Butte and Emigrant Canons—Garfield 
Beach and Giant’s Cave—Echo and Weber Canons—Val¬ 
leys of marvelous diversity—The Devil’s Slide and the 
Witches’ Playground—Beaver River Gulch and scenic 
wonders about Ogden—A trip across the creviced lava 
fields of Idaho—The magnitude and awfulness of Shoshone 
Falls—A second Niagara in the desert—Twin, Cascade and 
Bridal Veil Falls—A realistic description of this incompar¬ 
able wonderland.85-112 









2 


TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


CHAPER V. 

PAGE 

Over the Heights and into the Deeps of Wonderland. ' 

—Through the portals of Black Canon—Astounding views 
along Gunnison River—Chippeta Falls and Currecanti 
Needle—A sight of Fossil Ridge and the Cone of Ouray— 

Tflie trip over Marshall Pass—The terrible mightiness of 
the Royal Gorge—Hanging Bridge—The tempestuously 
craggy route between Ironton and Ouray—Marvelous engi¬ 
neering skill—Weirdly savage Animas Canon—A railroad 
balcony 1,500 feet above the river—A flight high as the 
eagle’s—Kit Carson’s Exploits in Canon de Chelle—The 
awesomeness of Toltec Gorge—A parade-ground of Nature’s 
Idols—Looking down upon the world—Blooming flower- 
land of San Luis Park—Down through Comanche Canon— 

A side trip to ruined pueblos and cliff dwellings in New 
Mexico—Something about an extinct race—The Grave of 
Kit Carson—Some history of remarkable interest—The 
ancient Pueblo Indians and their dwellings—Magnificent 
ruins of the Casa Grandes—Montezuma’s Palace—Evidences 
of a walled and towered city—Prehistoric man in New 
Mexico,.113-152 

CHAPTER VI. 

Across the Cactus Desert into California’s Golden 
Land.— The Zuni plateau—Approach to the Grand Canon 
of the Colorado—A scene of overpowering sublimity—A 
Mohave Village—Death Valley—From sterility to fertility 
—Monterey and its attractions—A visit to the Lick Observ¬ 
atory and the great telescope—In and around San Francisco 
—The Seals’ Sporting Grounds—The Mariposa grove of 
big trees—A trip through the wondrous valley of the 
Yosemite—A stage journey through a region of incomparable 
grandeur—Wonders and curiosities of the Yosemite—Falls 
of extraordinary beauty and peaks of amazing height— 

The Calavaras big trees—The journey from Ogden to Cali¬ 
fornia—Across the great American desert—Indian camps 
along the way—The Humboldt Palisades—Lake Tahoe— 

The sad story of the Donner party—Along the lofty crest of 
American Canon—Giant’s Gap and Cape Horn—The beau¬ 
tiful Sacramento Valley, .153-192 

CHAPTER VII. 

Our Journey Through Picturesque Regions of the 
Northwest.—W inter in vernal climes—A plunge into the 


PAGE 

Siskiyou Range—the light that crowns Shasta’s head— 

Soda Springs that titillate the palate like champagne— 
Exquisite Mossbrse Falls—A glorious sight from Portland’s 
heights—Lofty peaks of the Cascade Range—A trip up the 
Columbia—Pictorial shores that lend charm to interest—Its 
dales, palisades and waterfalls—A panorama of extraordi¬ 
nary grandeur—A side trip to Crater Lake—Traditions of 
the Klamath Indians—The most marvelous body of water 
on earth—Indian legend of creation, the flood and repeopling 
of the world—Wondrous visions on the lake—The core of 
a great volcano—A Siwash legend of the Saviour—A voyage 
to Alaska—First sight of the glaciers—In the land of ice¬ 
bergs—Description of Muir Glacier—Birth of icebergs—His¬ 
tory of the glacial epoch—Facts and fancies about Alaskan 
natives—Their religion and mortuary customs—O, glorious 
night of the North!. 193-234 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Across the Mountains to Yellowstone Park.— A detour 
on the Canadian Pacific Railroad — Magnificent scenery 
along Fraser River—Green lakes on mountain brows— 
Canadian National Park—A glimpse of the Sandwich 
Islands through other eyes than ours—Down the Yakimer 
River—Spokane and Palouse Falls—Sights along Snake 
River—Pinnacle Rocks—Lost Falls—Lakes of marvelous 
beauty and rivers of torrential flow—A trip to the 12 falls 
of the Missouri—Our visit to Yellowstone Park—The won¬ 
drous gateway to Gardiner Canon—Nesting place of the 
sentinel eagle—Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces—Remark¬ 
able formations more beautiful than the Cave of Stalacta— 

Springs glowing with brilliant coloring—Terraces of petri¬ 
fied rainbows—Through the Golden Gate, by deep canon, 
lofty waterfall and far-soaring cliffs—In purgatorial regions 
—Growling caves and spouting Geysers—The Devil’s 
Kitchen and his Majesty’s Mush-pot—Along Fireliole 
River and into the Lower Basin—The land of fearful sur¬ 
prises and volcanic energy—Yellowstone Lake and its 
game-abounding shores—Death Valley and Petrified Forest 
—Grand Canon of the Yellowstone and its flowing beauties 
—Tower and Yellowstone Falls—A grave-yard of mam¬ 
moth quadripeds. 235-288 









CHAPTER IX. 


TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


3 


PAGE 

Among the Wonders of the Black Hills.— Beautiful Dells 
of the St. Croix—Scenes of the last Indian uprising—The 
scenery about Deadwood—Tumultuous wonders of Custer 
Park—Marvels of Elk Creek Canon—Harney’s Peak and 
Wedge Rock—Horseshoe Curve—Keith’s Crystal Cave— 

A trip to the Belle Fourche—Astounding wonder of the 
Devil’s Tower—A basaltic column higher than the Eiffel 
Tower—Speculations concerning its formation—Crow Butte 
and Signal Rock—A story of Indian heroism—St. Anthony’s 
Falls—Charming beauty of Minnehaha—Dells of the St. 

Croix—The Devil’s Fishing Place—Customs of the Wiscon¬ 
sin Indians—Making a Medicine Man—Witchery of the 
Wisconsin Dells—Cleavages of extraordinary curiosity— 
Funeral ceremonies of the Ojibways—Wonders of Devil’s 
Lake and Camp Douglas—Through the Straits of Macki¬ 
naw—Picturesqueness of Superior’s Shores—Pictured pali¬ 
sades and frozen waterfalls—Scenery along the north shore 
—A trip down the Mississippi, . 289-344 

CHAPTER X. 

Scenic Marvels op the Great Northeast. — Mountain 
scenes in the vicinity of Eureka Springs—Legend of the 
Starved Rock in Illinois—Sublime glories and immensity 
of Niagara Falls—Utilization of the waters—Some interest¬ 
ing scientific facts—The Mohawk Valley and Leather 
Stocking Stories—Magnificence of Watkin’s and Havana 
Glens—The poetry of idyllic retreats—Down through the 
Thousand Islands—Chatauguay Chasm — Canons of the 
Ausable and bewildering glories of the Adirondacks — 
Hunting grounds of the great North wilderness—Scenes of 
incomparable grandeur—Story of our tramp through the 
Catskills—A trip down the Hudson—Places famous in 
American history—West Point and its noted surroundings, 345-382 

CHAPTER XI. 

A Pictorial Tour of the Eastern States. —A trip through 
the scenic regions of Canada—Torrential mightiness of 
Chaudiere Falls—The falls of Montreal River—A trip 
through Lachine Rapids—Something about the early history 
of Quebec—Winter sports in Montreal—The home of Queen 
Victoria’s father—Beautiful scenery in the vicinity of Quebec 
—A journey through the New England States—The Green 
Mountains of Vermont—Description of the White Mount- 


PAGE 

ains—Singular examples of nature sculpturing—Ascension 
of the highest peaks and bewildering views therefrom—The 
cog-wheel railroad up Mount Washington—Sensations and 
charms of the ascent—A typical village in a New Hampshire 
valley—Vagaries and reveries of a poetaster—Wild grandeur 
of Wild-Cat River—Afloat on the pretty lakes of New 
Hampshire—From Maine to Boston—Historic places of 
Massachusetts, and the stories connected with them— 
Curiosities around Pittsfield and description of the Shaker 
settlement,. 383-414 

CHAPTER XII. 

On Historic Fields op Virginia and Pennsylvania.— 

From the Blue Grass Regions to the Shenandoah—Scenery 
of the Kanawha River and Blue Ridge Mountains—Mar¬ 
velous Natural Bridge of Virginia—Some remarkable 
scenes in East Tennessee — Pen-pictures of some of the 
mountaineers—War memories that are fast fading—The 
Great Smoky Mountains—Portraitures of North Caro¬ 
linians, and some typical farm scenes—Scenery about 
Asheville—A tragic story of the ascent of Mount Mitchell— 

A visit to Luray Caverns—Beauties of the Under-world that 
dazzle with their splendor—Descriptions of the subterranean 
chambers—Valley of the Shenandoah—Memorable battle¬ 
fields—Down the Juniata—Scenery of the Susquehanna— 

Visit to a land of waterfalls beyond the Water Gap, . 415-448 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Through Languorous Lands op the Sunny South.—A 
visit to the Gettysburg battle-field—Through the Wilder¬ 
ness of Virginia—Scene of the closing event of the war — 

From Fortress Monroe to the Dismal Swamp—Story of 
Nat Turner’s Insurrection—A Dream of the Old Cabin 
Home—From Georgia to the orange lands of Florida— 

Olden times in St. Augustine —A boat journey down Indian 
River, into a land of perpetual bloom—Visions of tropic 
beauty and luxuriance—A trip on St. John’s River, and on 
the Ocklawaha—Alligators, snakes, and other slimy things 
—Marvels of Silver Spring—’WayDown Upon the Suwan¬ 
nee River—From Mobile to New Orleans—A trip to Mam¬ 
moth Cave—Descriptions of its subterranean wonders_A 

tour of Wyandotte Cave—Magnificence of its halls, in which 
the splendors of Aladdin’s Cavern are reproduced — Con¬ 
clusion, . 449-508- 








mm 






































LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

Beryl Springs and Cleopatra Terrace, Yellowstone Park, ... 4 

A Family of Pueblo Indians, New Mexico, ...... 12 

Governor’s Residence, Pueblo of Tesuque, New Mexico, ... 13 

“ Whale-Back ” Boat of the Northern Lakes, ...... 13 

The Urns, Manitou Park, Colorado,.. 13 

On the Ocklawaha River, Florida, ........ 14 

On the Summit of Mount Tacoma, Oregon,.15 

View of Fort Wrangel, Alaska,. 16 

Pike’s Peak, from Colorado Springs, .17 

Marshall Falls, Clear Creek Canon, ....... 18 

A View of Pike’s Peak,.19 

Chalk Cliffs, Clear Creek Canon, ........ 20 

A View of Platte Canon,.. 21 

Argenta Falls, ............ 22 

Canon Walls of the Rio de Los Animas,.23 

Bridal Veil Falls, near Devil’s Gate, . . 24 

Valley of the Gunnison, ....... . . 25 

The Loop, near Georgetown,. 26 

Mary Lake and Long’s Peak, Estes Park, .27 

Entrance to Estes Park,. 27 

High Line Canal, Silver Plume, .28 

Dome Rock, Boulder Canon, ......... 29 

Boulder Falls,.30 

Mountain of the Holy Cross,. 31 

Graymont Mountain, Middle Park, ........ 32 

Saddle Rock, Ute Pass,. 33 

Within the Gates, Garden of the Gods,.33 

Torrey’s Peak, Middle Park, ......... 34 

The Westward Flood of Emigration,.35 

Fremont’s Pass, North Park,. . 36 

Dodge’s Bluff, Canon of Grand River,.37 

Grand Lake, Middle Park,. 38 

Gore’s Canon, Middle Park, ......... 39 

In the Canon of Grand River, ........ 40 

Seal and Bear, Garden of the Gods.41 

Stalactite Organ, Grand Caverns,. 42 

Cathedral Spires, Garden of the Gods,.43 

Jumbo Tunnel, Grand Caverns,. 44 

Carriage-Road up Pike’s Peak,.45 

Temple of Isis, Williams’ Canon, .. 46 

The Jaws of Clear Creek Canon, .47 

5 


PAGE" 

Williams’ Canon, near the Cave-of-the-Winds, , 47 

Pillar of Jupiter,.48 

Triple Falls, Cheyenne Canon, ........ 49 

Anvil Rock, Garden of the Gods, ........ 50' 

Rainbow Falls, Ute Pass, ... . . 51 

Tower of Babel, Garden of the Gods, ....... 52 

Observatory on Pike’s Peak, ..... . . 63 

Ute Pass, near Manitou, ....... . . 64 

Gateway to Garden of the Gods, ..... . 65 

The Dutch Wedding, Monument Park, ...... 56 

Balanced Rock, Garden of the Gods,.. 57 

The Devil’s Tooth, Cheyenne Canon, ....... 5S 

Vulcan’s Anvil, Monument Park, ........ 58 

Major Domo, Glen Eyrie, ......... 59 

Needle Rocks, Garden of the Gods, ....... 59 

Medicine Rock, Monument Park, ........ 60 

The Idiot, Monument Park, . . ...... 61 

Mother Grundy, Monument Park, . ...... 61 

Phantom Falls, North Cheyenne Canon,. 62 

Castle Falls, North Cheyenne Canon, ........ 62 

Crystal Falls, Cascade Canon,. G3 

The Bear’s Cave, near Green Lake, ........ 64 

Portal of Grand River Canon,. 65 

Sylvan Falls, Cascade Canon, ........ 66 

Book Cliffs, Grand River Canon. 67 

Triple Falls, Cascade Canon, ......... 68 

Near Hance’s Cabin, Grand Canon of the Colorado, .... 69 

Ten-Mile Pass, Kokomo, Colorado.. 76 

In the Canon of Grand River, ........ 71 

Kaibab Pinnacles, Grand Canon of the Colorado, ..... 72 

Pyramid Peak, Grand Canon of the Colorado,. 73 

Horseshoe Canon, Grand Canon of the Colorado,. 74 

Echo Cliffs, Canon of Grand River,. 75 

Jarassic Terrace of the Colab, Grand Canon of the Colorado, ... 76 

Cliff Ruins in the Canon,. 76 

Buffalo Bill and Party at Point Sublime. 77 

Skulls of the Cliff-Dwellers,. 78 

Hance’s Trail, Grand Canon, ....... . 7 <) 

A Rotary Snow-Plow, . 80 

Ruins of Ancient Palace of Casa Grande, . . .... 81 

Ruins of Ancient Walls of Casa Grande, ...... 81 







































6 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 


Bridal Veil, Shoshone Falls,.S2 

Freshet Falls of the Parunuweap, Colorado, . 84 

Twin Lakes, Cottonwood Canon,.85 

Black Rock, Great Salt Lake,. SG 

Utaline, Division between Utah and Colorado, .87 

Mormon Temple, Salt Lake City, ........ 83 

Provo Falls, Utah,.89 

Bee-Hive House, Salt Lake City, ........ 90 

Double Circle, near Eureka, Utah,.91 

Brigham Young’s Grave, Salt Lake City,. 92 

Castle Gate, Price’s Canon, ......... 93 

Josephine Falls, Utah,. 94 

Mount Nebo, Wasatch Range,.95 

Pulpit Rock, Weber Canon,. 9G 

Oldest House in Salt Lake City,.97 

Witches’ Rocks, Weber Canon,. 98 

Mormon Tithing House, Salt Lake City,.99 

Hanging Rock, American Fork Canon, ...... 100 

The Devil’s Slide, Weber Canon,.101 

Tea-Pot Rock, Green River,. 102 

Pulpit Rock, Echo Canon,.103 

Maiden of the Bad Lauds,. 104 

Witch Rock, Bad Lands of Wyoming,.104 

Monument Rock, Echo Canon,. 105 

Giant’s Club, Green River, 105 

Banks of Snake River, .......... 106 

Bad Lands of Wyoming, . . . . . . . . . . 106 

Weber Valley and Tunnel, ......... 107 

Petrified Trees of the Bad Lands,.108 

Cedar Canon, Bad Lands of Dakota,. 108 

Bluffs of Green River, 109 

Moyea Falls, Idaho, .......... no 

Shoshone Falls,.. 

Ferry at Shoshone Falls,. 112 

Natural Bridge, Shoshone Falls,.112 

Unaweep Canon, Colorado, .. 113 

Toad-Stool Rock, near Gunnison, . . . . . . . 113 

Box Canon Falls, near Gunnison,. 114 


Eagle Rock, Shoshone Falls, 

Profile Rock, near Ouray, . . . . 

Mouth of Grand River Canon, 

Leaning Tower, Perry Park. 

Cascade at Ouray, ..... 
Currecanti Needle, Colorado, 

Twin Falls, near Ames, Colorado, 

Chippeta Falls, Black Canon of the Gunnison, 


PAGE 


Jaws of Death, Animas Canon, . ..122 

Mount Ouray, Colorado, .......... 123 

Excavations in the Cliffs of Mancos Canon, ..124 

Ruins of Cliff Dwellings in Mancos Canon, ...... 124 

West Side of Marshall Pass, ......... 125 

Calcareous Cliffs of Grand River, ........ 126 

The Royal Gorge, . 127 

Phantom Curve,. 128 

Trail Over the San Juan Mountains,.129 

Crevice Canon, near Ouray,. 129 

Antelope Park, near Toltec Gorge, ........ 130 

Deer Park Cascade, Animas Canon, ....... 131 

Ouray and Silverton Stage-Road,.131 

Lake Brennan, in South Park,.. 132 

City of Ouray, Colorado.133 

Maiden Hair Falls,. 134 

Animas Canon, ............ 135 

Cliff Dwellings in the Rio Mancos Canon, ...... 136 

Ruins of the Cliff-Dwellers, Mancos Canon, . . . . . . 137 

Weapons and Utensils of Cliff-Dwellers,. 138 

Lake San Cristoval, Colorado. 139 

Grave of Kit Carson, New Mexico, ........ 140 

Toltec Gorge of the Los Pinos, ......... 141 

Cave Dwellings in the Canon de Chelley, ...... 142 

A Relic of the Cave-Dwellers,.142 

LaVetaPass, Colorado, .......... 143 

Cave Habitations, near Espanola,. 144 

Wagon-Wheel Gap, ........... 145 

Spanish Peaks, from Las Vegas, . ..140 

Los Pinos Valley, ........... 147 

Mexican Ovens used by Pueblo Indians. . 148 

Adobe Village of Pueblo Indians,. . 149 

Scene on the Great American Desert, . . . . . . . 150 

Pueblo Village of La Guna,. 151 

Inner Court of a Pueblo Towm, ......... 152 

Navajo Church, near Fort Wingate, ....... 153 

The Needles, along the Rio Grande,.154 

The Old Spanish Palace, Santa Fe, ....... 155 

Old Church of San Miguel (built 1550), Santa Fe, ..... 155 

Natural Bridge, near Monterey, California,. 156 

A Century Plant in Bloom,.. 157 

A Cactus Fence in Arizona, ......... 157 

The Great Telescope in Lick Observatory, ...... 158 

The Jaws of Grand Canon of the Colorado, ...... 159 

Our Stage-Coach Crossing the Santa Inez, ....... 160 

Magnolia Avenue, Riverside, California,. 161 






























































LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 


/ 


PAGE 

The Grizzly Giant, Mariposa Grove, ........ 162 

An Old Mission House, California,. 163 

Bridal Veil Falls, Yoseniite,.164 

Lick Observatory, on Mount Hamilton, . 165 

El Capitan, Yoseniite Park,.166 

Garden of Palms at Indio, California,. 167 

Vernal Falls and Lady Franklin Rock,.168 

Seal Rocks and Cliff House, California,. 169 

Glacier Point, Yoseniite,.170 

Big Trees in the Mariposa Forest,. 171 

Vernal Falls, Yosemite,.172 

Mirror Lake, Yoseniite. 173 

Illillouette Falls and South Dome, Yosemite,.174 

Upper Cascade, Bridal Veil Falls, Yosemite, . 175 

Sentinel Rock Wrapped in a Cloud, Yosemite, .175 

The Turn, in Chilnualnu Falls, Yosemite, ...... 176 

Yoseniite Valley, from Artists’ Point, Yosemite,.177 

An Indian Burial Scaffold, Nevada, ....... 178 

Half Dome and Cloud’s Rest, Yosemite,.179 

Cave Rock, Lake Tahoe, California, . .. ISO 

The Sentinel in Yosemite Park,.181 

Cascade Bridge on the Sierras,. 182 

Cathedral Rocks, Yosemite,.183 

Heather Lake, California, ......... 184 

The Mountains about Lake Tahoe, California, ...... 184 

The Brow of El Capitan, Yosemite,. 185 

Wagon-Road through one of the Big Trees,.186 

Ice Formation at Foot of Bridal Veil Falls,. 1S7 

Nevada Falls, Yosemite, .......... 187 

Donner Lake, California, ......... 188 

Agassiz Column, Yosemite, 189 

Passage Around Cape Horn, California, ...... 189 

Snow Shovelers Cutting a Blockade,.190 

Upper Yosemite Falls in Winter, ........ 191 

American River Canon, California,.191 

Rotary Snow-Plow in Action, ......... 192 

High Sierras and Susie Lake, California,.. . 193 

Upper Cascade of Chilnualnu Falls, Yosemite,. 194 

Najaqui Falls, California, .......... 195 

Interior of a Snow-Shed in the Sierras, . 196 

Mount Shasta, from Sissons, California, . . . . . . . 197 

Sacramento Canon, California,. 19S 

Mossbrae Falls, Sacramento River,.199 

Soda Springs, Sacramento Canon,. 200 

Strawnahan’s Falls, Mount Hood,.201 

Multinomah Falls, Oregon.. 201 


PAGE 

Willamette Falls, Oregon, ......... . 202' 

Dalles of the Columbia, Oregon,. 203- 

Natural Pillars, Columbia River,. 204. 

The Crater of Mount Hood,.. 205 

On the Route to Crater Lake, Oregon,.205 

Oneonta Gorge, Columbia River.. 206- 

Rooster Rock, Columbia River,.. 207 

Cascades of the Columbia,. 208- 

Crater Lake and Wizard Island, ......... 209 

Among the Clouds, on Mount Hood,. 210 

Scene on Columbia River,.211 

Cliffs around Crater Lake. . 211 

Grotto in Crater Lake, .. . . . 212 

Palisades of the Columbia. 212 

Great Glacier in the Selkirk Mountains,.213 

A Fish-Wheel on the Columbia,. 214 

Greek Church in Juneau, Alaska,.215 

Summit of Mount St. Helens, . 216 

Top of Muir Glacier, Alaska.. . . . 217 

Crevasse in Muir Glacier,.. . 217 

Cathedral Rock, on Columbia River, .218 

Indian Burial Houses, near Juneau, Alaska. 219 

Brink of Snoqualmie Falls, Oregon,.220 

Side View of the Great Glacier,. 221 

Latourelle Falls, Oregon, . .. 222 

A View of Mount Hood. 223 

Umatilla Indian Camp, Oregon, ........ 224 

Indian River, Alaska. 225 

Mountain near Muir Glacier,.225 

Cave in the Great Glacier,. 226 

Scuzzie Falls, British America, .. . 227 

Face of Muir Glacier, .. 228 

Village of Kasa-an and Totem Poles, .229 

Christine Falls, Alaska,. 230 

Taku Glacier, Alaska, .......... 231 

Davidson’s Glacier, British America. 232 

The Pool at Banff, British America, ........ 233 

Devil’s Gate, Beaver Canon, British America, ..... 234 

Spokane Falls, Washington, ......... 235 

Native Girls of Hawaii,. 236 

Kanfohe Park, Sandwich Islands,. 237 

Kakabeka Falls, Thunder Bay, . . . . . . 238 

The Royal Palace, Hawaii, ....... _ 239 

Snow-Sheds on the Canadian Pacific, . ... 240 

Limestone Bluffs of the Upper Missouri. _ 241 

Kananaske’s Falls, British America,. 242 








































8 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 


PAGE 


•Cleopatra and Jupiter Terraces, Yellowstone Park, 
Canon of Missouri River, . 

Pulpit Terrace, Yellowstone Park, 

Rainbow Falls, Montana,. 

Little Jupiter Terrace, Yellowstone Park, 
■Sluice-Box Canon, Montana, . 

Coated Springs Terraces, Yellowstone Park, 

Echo Canon Falls, Montana,. 

Limestone Hoodoos, Yellowstone Park, 

Natural Castle, Sluice-Box Canon, Montana, 
Hymen Terraces, Yellowstone Park, . 

Cleopatra and Jupiter Terraces, Yellowstone Park, 
Jupiter Terrace, Yellowstone Park, 

In the Belt Valley, Montana, . 

The Golden Gate, Yellowstone Park, 

Liberty Cap, Yellowstone Park, . 

Excelsior Geyser in Action, .... 
Cupid’s Cave, Yellowstone Park, . 

Old Faithful Geyser in Action, .... 
Rustic Falls, Golden Gate Road, . . . . 

Cooking Fish in the Cone of a Ge 3 ^ser, 

Beautj'- Spring Formation, Yellowstone Park, 
General View of the Norris Basin Geysers, 

Crystal Cascade, Yellowstone Park, 

Crater of Castle Geyser, Yellowstone Park, 

Gibbon Falls, Yellowstone Park, . . . . 

Grand Canon of the Yellowstone, 

Yellowstone River, near Mud Geyser, 

Tower Falls, Yellowstone Park, 

Petrified Tree in the Bad Lands, Dakota, 

Biscuit Basin, Yellowstone Park, 

Crater of Oblong Geyser, Yellowstone Park, 
Basaltic Canon of Yellowstone River, 

Limestone Pinnacles in Big Horn Canon, 

A Horse Ranch on the Little Missouri, 

Grotto Geyser, Yellowstone Park, . 

Harvest Scene on the Dalrymple Farm, Dakota, 
Lone Star Geyser Cone, Yellowstone Park, 

A Harvest-Field in Dakota, ..... 
Black Growler Geyser, Yellowstone Park, 

Little Fire-Hole Falls, Yellowstone Park, 

An Ecampment of Sioux Indians, . . . . 

Kepler’s Cascade, Yellowstone Park, 

Rlackfeet Indian Camp. 

Giant, Catfish, and Young Faithful Cones, 

A Wigwam on the Lonely Prairie, . 


243 

214 

245 

246 

247 

248 

249 

250 

251 

252 

253 

254 

255 

256 

257 
253 

259 

260 
261 
262 

263 

264 

265 

266 

267 

268 

269 

270 

271 

272 

273 

274 

275 

276 

277 

278 

279 

280 
2S1 
282 
282 
2S3 

284 

285 
2S6 
287 


Ferry Across Red River of the North, 

Dells of the Sioux River, . .... 

Lover’s Leap, Sioux River, . . . . . 

Devil’s Notch, Sioux River, ..... 

Danger Rock, Sioux River, . 

Signal Rock, Elkhorn Canon, .... 

Cabinet Gorge, Sioux River,. 

Needle Points, Custer Park, ..... 
Cathedral Rock, Elk Creek Canon, . . . . 

Summit of Harney’s Peak, Black Hills, . 

View of Bear Butte, Dakota, . . . . . 

Harney’s Peak, Black Hills, ..... 
The Horseshoe, in Elk Greek Canon, 

Wedge Rock, near Custer City, .... 

Beecher Rocks, near Custer City, . . . . 

A Chamber in Crystal Cave,. 

The Chancel in Crystal Cave,. 

Devil’s Thumb, Custer Park,. 

Devil’s Chair, St. Croix River,. 

Devil’s Tower on Belle Fourche River, 

Tea-Table Rock, Wisconsin River, . . . . 

Dome Rock in Custer Park, Black Hills, 

Squaw’s Chamber, Dells of the Wisconsin, 

The Narrows, Dells of the Wisconsin, 

Castle Tower, Dells of the Wisconsin, 

Crow Butte, near Crawford, Nebraska, . 

Skylight Cave, Dells of the Wisconsin, 

Hawk’s Bill, Dells of the Wisconsin, 

Mouth of Witches’ Gulch, Dells of the Wisconsin, . 
St. Anthony’s Falls, Minnesota, .... 
Fairies’ Retreat, Dells of the Wisconsin, 

Whirlpool Chamber, Dells of the Wisconsin, 

Witches’ Gulch, Dells of the Wisconsin, 

Minnehaha Falls in Summer, Minnesota, 

Romance Cliffs, Dells of the St. Croix, 

Signal Rock, near Camp Douglas, .... 

Minnehaha Falls in Winter,. 

Hornet’s Nest, Dells of the Wisconsin, . 

Cleopatra’s Needle, Devil’s Lake. 

Cleft Rock, Devil’s Lake,. 

Wagon Bridge over the St. Croix, . . . . 

Chippewa Indians Building a Canoe, 

Ceremony of Initiating a Medicine Man, . 

The Sugar-Bowl, Dells of the Wisconsin, 

Ojibway Indian Village and Grave, . . . . 

Oconomowoc Falls, Wisconsin, .... 


288 

289 

289 

290 

290 

291 

292 

293 

294 

295 

296 

297 

298 

299 

300 

301 

302 

303 

304 

305 

306 

307 

308 
308 

308 

309 

310 
310 

310 

311 

312 
312 

312 

313 

313 

314 

315 

316 
316 

316 

317 

318 

319 

320 

321 

322 

























LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 


9 


PAGE 


Beleaguered Castle, Camp Douglas, Wisconsin,.323 

Cave of the Dark Waters, Lake Superior, ...... 324 

Miner’s Falls, Lake Superior,.325 

White Rock, Lake Superior,. 325 

Split Rock, Devil’s Lake, Wisconsin,.326 

The Old Guard, Devil’s Lake, . 326 

Falls of St. Louis River, British America, ...... 326 

Rapids of Montreal River, British America, . 327 

Giant’s Castle, Camp Douglas,.328 

Sugar-Loaf, Mackinac Island,. 329 

Chimney and Bee Rocks, Camp Douglas,.330 

Falls of Miner’s River in Winter, Lake Superior, .... 331 

The Cascade in Winter, Lake Superior,.331 

Signal Rock, Camp Douglas. 332 

Nipigon River, North Shore of Superior,.333 

Sand Island Arch, Lake Superior, ........ 334 

The Chapel, Pictured Rocks, Lake Superior,.335 

Abode of the Genii, Lake Superior, ....... 336 

Cave-of-the-Winds, Lake Superior,.337 

Exterior View of the Cave,. 337 

Bay of Isles, Lake Superior.338 

Princess Bay, Lake Superior,. 338 

The Sea Elephant, Lake Superior.338 

Pad-Lock Island, Lake Superior,. 338 

The Grand Portal, Lake Superior,.339 

Lake View of Grand Portal, Lake Superior, . 339 

Ice Palace at St. Paul.340 

Storming the Ice Palace, 341 

Peter’s Pillar, Lake Superior,.342 

• Pigeon River Falls, British America. 343 

Old Fort Snelling, on Mississippi River,.344 

Starved Rock, near Ottawa, Illinois, . . 345 

Basin Springs, Eureka Springs, Arkansas,.. 316 

The Lookout on the Mississippi,. 347 

Barn Bluff, Upper Mississippi.247 

View of Fort Snelling from the Mississippi, . 348 

Harding Spring, Eureka Springs, Arkansas,.349 

American Falls, from Goat Island,. 350 

Niagara Frozen, ..351 

Bridal Veil Falls, Niagara. 352 

Hector Falls, Watkin’s Glen, in Winter.353 

Cavern Cascade, Watkin’s Glen, in Winter, ...... 354 

Terraced Falls, Watkin’s Glen, New \ork, ...... 355 

Watkin’s Cascade Frozen,. 256 

Giant’s Gorge, Chateaugay Chasm, New York,.357 

Whirlpool Gorge, Watkin’s Glen, ........ 357 

Portland Cascade, Havana Glen, New York,.358 


PAGE 


Peek-a-boo Falls, Watkin’s Glen,. 359 

Eagle Falls, Havana Glen, . 360 

Council Chamber, Watkin’s Glen, ....... 361 

Giant Falls, Ausable Chasm, New York.362 

Bridal Veil Falls, Havana Glen, ........ 363 

Elbow Falls, Ausable Chasm,.361 

View of the Thousand Islands, St. Lawrence River, .... 365 

Summit of White-Face Mountain, Adirondacks, New York, . . . 366 

Ausable River, Head of the Chasm, ....... 367 

Kaaterskill Falls, Catskill Mountains, New York, ..... 368 

Ausable Chasm, Below the Oven,.. 368 

Grand Flume in Ausable Chasm, ........ 369 

Bogg’s River Falls, Adirondacks, New York, ..... 370 

Mount Morris, from Tupper’s Lake, New York, ..... 371 

Buttermilk Falls, Adirondacks, ........ 371 

Adirondack Lodge and Clear Lake,.372 

West Point, from Eagle’s Nest,. 373 

Rainbow Falls in Winter, Adirondacks. 374 

The Hudson Narrows, near Peekskill. 375 

Surprise Falls, Adirondacks,. 376 

Bridge over Glen Falls, New York, ....... 377 

Looking North from West Point, New York. 378 

Break-Neck Hill on the Hudson, . ....... 379 

Trophy Garden, West Point, . .3S0 

Storm King Mountain, Hudson River,. 381 

Long Gallery, Ausable Chasm,. 332 

Winooski River Gorge, Vermont,. 382 

Toboggan Slide, Montreal,. 3 S 4 

Chaudiere Falls in Winter, Ottawa, Canada, ..... 385 

Montmorenci Falls, near Quebec,.386 

Winter Carnival at Montreal,. 337 

St. Anne Falls, near Quebec,. 388 

Scenery along the line of the Canadian Pacific Railway, . . . 389 

Winooski Falls, Vermont,.. 

A Sylvan Stream in the Green Mountains.. 394 

Peacock Falls, Green Mountains,. 392 

Clarendon Gorge, Vermont, ......... 393 

Winooski River, Vermont, . ... 393 

A Rural Scene in Vermont,. 394 

Falls of the Ammoonoosuc, White Mountains, ..... 395 

The Flume, Franconia Mountains, ....... 396 

Elephant’s Head and Mount Webster,. 397 

Crawford House Notch,. 393 

Mount Washington and Cog-Wheel Railroad,. 399 

Squam Lake, New' Hampshire,. 490 

Upper Jackson Falls, Wild-Cat River, New'Hampshire, .... 491 

Light-House in Portland Harbor, Maine, ...... 492 

Tower Gate, Crawford Notch, New Hampshire, ..... 403 

Minot’s Ledge Light-House, off Cohasset, Massachusetts, . . . 494 

Prospect from the Summit of White Mountains, New Hampshire, . . 405 










































IO 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 


Cog-Wheel Railway up Mount Washington. 40G 

Monument at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts, . .... 407 

Old Tower at Newport, Rhode Island, ....... 40S 

Cliffs at Newport, .409 

Purgatory Chasm, near Newport,. 410 

Negro-Head Cliffs, near Newport,.411 

Soldiers’ Monument at New Haven, Connecticut, .... 412 

Balanced Rock, near Pittsfield, Massachusetts, ..... 413 

Cross Rock, near Pittsfield,. 414 

A Mixed Train from the Wilderness, .415 

Falling Spring, near Warm Springs, Virginia,. 41G 

Kanawha Falls, West Virginia,.417 

Waiting for Time to Catch Up,.. . 418 

Hawk’s Nest and Canon of the Kanawha, .419 

Galbraith Springs, East Tennessee,. 420 

Falls of New River, West Virginia,.421 

Passage of the French Broad River Through the Smoky Mountains, . 422 

Passage of the James River Through the Blue Ridge Mountains, . . 423 

Scene of Rural Life in North Carolina,. 424 

Pictured Bluffs on New River, West Virginia.425 

Old Man’s Face, near Asheville, North Carolina, .... 420 

View of the French Broad River, near Asheville, ..... 427 

Cesar’s Head, Blue Ridge Range,. 428 

Chimney Rock, near the French Broad River, ...... 429 

Above the Clouds on Mitchell’s Peak, ...... 430 

Little River Rapids, North Carolina, . . . . . . . . 431 
The Summit of Mount Mitchell, ........ 432 

Cathedral and Throne in Luray Cavern, Virginia.433 

Bridal Veil Falls, Dingman’s Ferry, Pennsylvania. 434 

Titania’s Veil, Luray Caverns,.435 

Colosseum Falls, Dingman’s Ferry. 436 

The Ball-Room, Luray Caverns. 437 

Factory Falls, Dingman’s Ferry,. 438 

Saracen’s Tent, Luray Caverns,.439 

Cadedenean Falls, Dingman’s Ferry,. 440 

Farm Scene in the Valley of the Shenandoah, ...... 441 

Harper’s Ferry, from Bolivar Heights, ....... 443 

Horseshoe Curve at Kittaning, Pennsylvania,.444 

Little Neck of the Susquehanna River, .. 447 

Tomb over the Grave of Washington’s Mother,.449 

Devil’s Den, Battle-field of Gettysburg,. 450 

Round Top, overlooking the Battle-field of Gettysburg.451 

A Village Scene of Happy Content in Virginia, ..... 452 

An Old Colonial House at Appomattox, Virginia,.453 


Fortress Monroe, Virginia, ....... 

An Old Cabin Home in Georiga,. 

Drummond’s Lake, in Great Dismal Swamp, 

Old Fort and Sea-Wall, at St. Augustine, Florida, 

A Hunter’s Cabin in the Dismal Swamp, .... 

Ponce de Leon Hotel, St. Augustine,. 

Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia, 

Old City Gates, St. Augustine. 

A Home in the Mountains of Georgia,. 

Among the Palmettos, on the Halifax River, 

Head of Halifax River, above Ormond, Florida, . 

Avenue of Moss-Covered Oaks, near Ormond, . 

Palmetto Huts, near Titusville, Florida, .... 
Rubber, or Banyan Tree, on Banana River, Florida, 

In the Deep Palmetto Solitudes, Indian River, 

Rockledge, on Indian River, Florida, .... 

Spouting Rock, near Jupiter, Florida,. 

Orange Grove at Rockledge,. 

Lake Okeechobee, Florida, ....... 

A Pine-Apple Grove at Eden, Florida, .... 

A Camp of Consumptives, near Lake Worth, Florida, . 

A Banana Grove in Florida,. 

The One-Ox Shay in Florida, . 

A Cocoauut Grove, Banks of Lake Worth, 

Scene on the Ocklawaha River, Florida, .... 
Orange Grove near Palatka, Florida, .... 

Excursion Launch on Run River, Florida, .... 

A Palmetto Glade, near Palatka, ..... 
Silver Spring and Ocklawaha Steamboat, .... 

Home of the Orange-Pickers. 

Scene on the Suwannee River,. 

A Home in the Shade of Southern Pines. 

A Baptizing in the Suwannee River, ..... 

A Section of Bienville Park, Mobile, ..... 

Avenue of Tombs, Washington Cemetery, New Orleans, 

A Plantation Home in Mississippi, ..... 

Fairy Grotto, Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, .... 

Old Stone House, Mammoth Cave, ..... 

Giant’s Coffin, Mammoth Cave, ...... 

The Bridal Altar, Mammoth Cave, ..... 

The River Styx, Mammoth Cave, ...... 

Monument Mountain, in Wallace’s Dome, Wyandotte Caverns, 
Entrance to Pillared Palace, Wyandotte Cave, 

The Throne, Wyandotte Cave, ....... 


PAGE' 

454 

453 

456 

457 

458 

459 
460' 

461 

462 
463- 
464 
465’ 

466 

467 

468 
469' 

470 

471 
472' 

473 

474 

475 

476 

477 
47S- 

479 

480 

481 

482 

483 
4X4 
485 
486- 
4S7 
48S 
489 
491 
493 
495 
497 

499 

500 

501 

502 


LIST OF CAMERAGRAPHS. 


PAGE 


SHOSHONE TUNNEL, CANON OF GRAND RIVER, ... 65 

CLIFFS OF THE GRAND CANON OF THE COLORADO, . 81 

A CACTUS GARDEN IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, ... 163 

SITKA BAY, ALASKA,. 232 


WINTER AT NIAGARA, . 

HELL GATE, AUSABLE CHASM, 
NATURAL BRIDGE OF VIRGINIA, 
WINTER IN FLORIDA, 


PAGE' 

350' 

364 

420 

476 





















































AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



r HE most interesting, because most diversified, country in the world is America, and the center of that unexampled 
interest belongs to the territory comprised within the United States. The castles of England, crushed by the hand 
of time; the lochs and friths of Scotland, that murmur to the sea their wails of the Viking invaders; the lakes and 
heaths of Ireland, around which old legends hold perpetual carnival; the Rhine of Germany, whose banks are 
strewn with the relics of feudalism; the Bernese Alps, that flaunt their whitened locks like aged giants taunting 
the walled cities about which the sound of battle still seems to linger; the red glare of Vesuvius, wrestling with 
fiery wrath in mad ambition to overwhelm the cities built upon her ashes; the' roar and blaze of fEtna, that growls with 
the voice of Polyphemus thirsting for the life of Ulysses; the hills of Greece, on which a thousand gods held council; the 
welling breast of Mother Nile, carrying to the sea remembrances of her ancient children; the Holy Land, blooming with 
sacred memories that fill the human heart with fragrance; the mighty peaks of Himalayas, piercing the heavens with 
frosted heads and draped with the fogs of centuries; the plains of Asshur, where Babylon stood, and the wrath of God 
was kindled. All these, and more, speak with siren tongue to lure the traveler and give him appetite for history. But, if 
we except the associations which make these places of the Old World memorable, the student of nature will find a thou¬ 
sand greater charms in the picturesque, grand, marvelous and sublime scenery that diversifies our own country. No 
picture has ever equaled the real, and no book has ever vividly described the wonders that God has scattered over the 
American landscape. We have had glimpses of mountain, plain, lake, river and canon, but they have been little more than 
shadows of the reality, an intimation of a grandeur almost too great to depict. But as great telescopes have brought within 
our vision surprising views of other worlds, the rings of Saturn, the seas of Mars, and the burnt-out craters of the Moon, so 
has inventive genius been active in delineating the physical features of the earth, and through the perfection of photography 
we are now practically enabled to take the world in our hand and examine it with the same convenience that we can an 
orange. Travel is no longer necessary for the masses in order to behold the marvels of American scenery, for the camera 
has gathered them all and lays every inspiring scene upon even the poor man’s table, to minister to the delight of his family 
circle. But photography likewise blesses the traveler, for study of the picture establishes acquaintanceship with that which 
is represented, while accompanying description quickens his understanding and gives a more intelligent conception of the 
pictorial subject. 

It has been my good fortune to make many trips across the continent over the various railway lines; and business 
and pleasure have taken me during the past several years to nearly all the accessible parts of the country, reached by rail, 
boat or stage-coach. Always an admirer of nature, I have longed for the means to sketch or photograph the imposing 
scenery which caught my enraptured eye as 1 hurried by. This ambition prompted the really stupendous undertaking 
whose fruitage is now offered to the public in all its delicious flavor, in the form of a book as herewith submitted. 

How the photographic views herein reproduced were obtained may be thus briefly told, and is well worthy the 
relation: This book was conceived more than half a dozen years ago, but a press of other engagements caused a postpone- 



12 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



ment of any effort at its preparation until the spring of 1890, when the publishers engaged a corps of artists, consisting of 
three of the best out-door photographers in the country. A passenger car was next chartered, which was remodeled so as 
to provide comfortable sleeping quarters for the men in one end, a kitchen in the other, while the center was fitted up as 
an operating-room for taking, developing and finishing pictures. Three cameras, of as many sizes, were also provided, with 
three thousand prepared plates, and a great quantity of paraphernalia which might be found useful for the expedition. 

Thus equipped, our photographic party left St. Louis early in May, going directly west to Denver, from which point we 
made excursions to all the 
near-lying parks, thence to 
Manitou, and by way of the 
Colorado Midland to Salt 
Lake. Our work about Salt 
Lake occupied considerable 
time, and after leaving there 
we proceeded to Weber 

Canon way ji' j x 

of the Union Pacific to Sho¬ 
shone Falls. We next re¬ 
turned by way of the 
Denver and Rio Grande 
Railroad, making a sweep 
southward, through Ouray 
and the Valley of the Gun¬ 
nison, over Marshall Pass 
and to Pueblo by way of 
the Royal Gorge. Our party 
divided several times in 
order to cover the territory 
more expeditiously, and in 
making the trip into New 
Mexico one part entered by 


- 








A FAMILY OF PUEBLO INDIANS, NEW MEXICO. 


way of Trinidad from Pueblo and the other traveled directly south through Antonito, forming a junction again at Sante Fe. 

Some weeks were spent traveling off the line of road among the ruined villages of the Cliff-Dwellers, and in photo¬ 
graphing the more rugged scenery of the Rio Grande River. Then we continued our journey westward over the Atlantic and 
Pacific and the Southern Pacific Railroads to California, where nearly three months were spent among the towns, Yosemite 
Valley, Big Trees and mountains of that summer-land. On the appearance of spring we traveled north by way of the 
California and Oregon Railroad, still making side trips by stage-coach and wagon, to Portland, from which point excur¬ 
sions were made up the Columbia and Willamette Rivers. At Victoria, British Columbia, we took steamer for Alaska, and 







returning we passed through the Cascade 
Range over the Northern Pacific, work¬ 
ing our way back east. But we con¬ 
tinued to make detours a long way off 
the main line of road, thus visiting the 
Falls of the Missouri, the Black Hills, 
the Custer battle-field, Devil’s Tower, 
and Yellowstone National Park, in which 
latter wonderland we spent tv/o weeks 
photographing its scenery and extraordi¬ 
nary formations. 

More than three-fourths of the 
grandest views were inaccessible by 
rail, so other means of travel had to be 
adopted. Often it was by stage-coach, 
but frequently donkeys were our sole 



“WHALE-BACK” BOAT ofthe NORTHERN LAKES. 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



GOVERNOR’S RESIDENCE, PUEBLO OF 
TESUQUE, NEW MEXICO. 


Mississippi through Lake Pepin, and 
back to St. Louis, the entire trip occupy¬ 
ing more than eighteen months. 

Our camera car had served our pur¬ 
poses in a most gratifying manner while 
making the long tour of the West, but 
in the eastern tour, which remained to 
be performed, it was considered that the 
car would be of no special advantage, 
since accommodations are so much more 
easily obtained in the built-up sections 
of the East than in the thinly and some¬ 
times totally unsettled districts of the 
West, where in many cases our car 


T 3 

reliance; and when these little animals 
could not carry us to the most rugged 
points, we shouldered our instruments 
and scrambled to the peaks and abysses 
of necessary observation. The difficul¬ 
ties, dangers and hardships thus 
encountered were both great and numer¬ 
ous, while the expense involved was so 
far beyond our first calculations, that 
had it been anticipated in the beginning 
the enterprise would certainly never 
have been undertaken. 

We resumed our eastward journey 
thence to Superior Lake, Dells of the 
St. Croix, rapids of the Wisconsin, lakes 
and waterfalls of Minnesota, the Upper 



THE URNS, MANITOU PARK. 




































i4 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



was our only shelter. The journey east was begun in October, from St. Louis to Chicago, thence to Niagara Falls, and 
then up the St. Lawrence. Our route next lay through the Green and White Mountains, and other famous sections of the 
New England States; thence west into the Adirondacks, Mohawk Valley and Lakes George and Champlain, then down the 
picturesque Hudson into the Catskills. Continuing our journey southward, we visited the points of grandest scenery in 
Virginia, North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee, and then proceeded on to Florida, where a part of the winter was spent 
photographing everything worthy of a place in this volume. On the return trip Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, and 
Wyandotte Cave, in Indi¬ 
ana, received our attention, 
as well as other interesting 
places along the way, and 
early in February our labors 
were ended by a return to 
St. Louis to put the results 
in book form. Nearly all 
the descriptive writing was 
done while our party was 
on the way, and while the 
impressions produced by 
the glorious visions were 
fresh in the author’s mind. 

This work, accordingly, is 
practically one of inspira¬ 
tion, the whole constituting 
a story of extraordinary in¬ 
terest and a history of 
incomparable value. 

Illustrations, however 
fine, whether of wood or 
steel, represent the artist’s 
conceptions, dashed with an 
individual coloring that pre- ON THE ocklawaha river, Florida. 

vents a natural reproduction. The painter sketches his landscape from a special point of view, and working many days 
blends the sunrise with midday and sunset, the mists of morning with the clouds of noon, thus striving to please the eye 
rather than to truthfully present nature, without artificial adornments. 


Photography, on the other hand, is the mirror which reflects nature in all her changeful moods; the absolutely 
faithful reproducer of her every aspect, exhibiting her in her every-day garb, noting the disfigurements with no less 
fidelity than the sublime graces which she exhibits and all the widely diversified physical features which render her 










AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 15 

countenance so variable that admirer and scoffer alike find reason for urging their claims. No other attempt has ever been 
made to so perfectly picture the wonders of America, and the work has been so thoroughly accomplished that it is 
confidently believed no one, however great his ambition or lavish his expense, will be able to add anything to the 
completeness of our undertaking, as here submitted. Whatever may be the measure of deserving of the descriptive part 
of this book, certainly the photographic illustrations are worthy of all praise as fulfilling the conditions of masterpieces of 
American scenery, while the publishers are entitled to most generous public recognition for conceiving and so liberally 

endowing an enterprise, 
which has flowered in the 
fragrance and beauty of this 
exquisite work. 

It is seemly to add that 
our tour was made wholly 
at the expense of the pub¬ 
lishers. Free transportation 
was offered us over all the 
railroads on which we trav¬ 
eled, but all such courtesies 
were uniformly refused, be¬ 
cause an acceptance would 
have placed us under obli¬ 
gations to manifest some 
favoritism, and thus inter¬ 
fere with the declared pur¬ 
pose of the publishers to 
issue a work on American 
scenery in which the views 
and descriptions should be 
given truthfully, and with¬ 
out partiality. We therefore 
selected the routes which 

promised most satisfactory 
on the summit of mount tacoma, Oregon. results without regard to 

personal convenience, having in view the ambition to present and describe the most interesting, if not always the most 
famous, scenery of our country, and in so doing produce a work of which all Americans, like the publishers, may be justly 
proud. In this our celebrant year such a book is particularly appropriate, and the hope of the publishers, as it is of the 
author, is that our ambitious and worthy enterprise may find a warm welcome at the fireside of every American family. 










VIEW OF FORT WRANGEL, ALASKA 










CHAPTER I. 

AMONG THE WILD SCENES OF COLORADO. 


“ Go abroad 

Upon the paths of Nature, and when all 
Its voices whisper, and its silent things 
Are breathing the deep mystery of the World, 
Kneel at its ample altar.” 








NTHUSIASM sometimes 
exaggerates the reality, 
just as colored glass 
confuses the sight; but 
when it serves to please 
without doing harm, 
the fault may be pardoned. To 
the enthusiasm of the occasion, 
and our great and unique enter¬ 
prise, may therefore be charged 
the burst of admiration that 
manifested our feelings, when, 
rolling along the prairies on the 
Union Pacific R. R., we saw, 
rising far to the southwest, 
nearly one hundred miles away, 
the broad shoulders of Pike’s 
Peak, breaking into russet 
above the clouds and showing 
a head of saffron, mellowed by 
the soft rays of a sun just falling 
into the deep valleys of the 
Occident. It was the chief 
object to chain our attention for 

„_the while, and this first impres- 

PIKE’S PEAK FROM COLORADO SPRINGS. e - o , , . , .. . 

sion awakened most delightful 

anticipations of the work which lay before us. A few hours later we were in Denver, making final preparations for a photographing tour 
of the picturesque West. Fortunately, our arrangements were so nearly complete upon leaving St. Louis that only a short stay in Denver 
was necessary, and it was with eager desire that we had our car attached to a Union Pacific train and started for the heart of the Rockies. 
The loner range of mountains, rising into sharp peaks, and again spreading their tops into truncated cones, elbowing and pushing each 
other like a brigade in too close quarters at parade-rest, are only fifteen miles from Denver, forming a grand background to an immense 

17 2 
























AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


i8 



•expanse of prairie landscape. Starting on tlie Colorado Central Branch of the Union Pacific, we soon pass through the gate-way of the 
Rockies; thence on to Golden, a beautiful mining town that nestles in the bed of a dried-up lake, and looks up with pleasing satisfaction 
to the guardian gods of North and South Table Mountains. Here a stop 
is made for a trip up Bear Creek Canon, which is reached by stage, by 
'which conveyance the traveler is trundled into* a gorge of surpassing 
beauty and noble grandeur. Through this great gash the water dashes, 

•swollen by melting snows, and fed by a thousand sources. On either side 
the frowning and dusky walls, weaving a tortuous way like the path of a 
•drunken giant, rear up their castellated heads until they remind us of the 
walled cities of Jericho, over which Joshua’s spies were lowered by Raliab. 

Only a few miles from Golden is Clear Creek Canon, another won¬ 
drous cleavage wrought by water that goes tumbling through the passage 
with rumble of breakers and roar of waterfall. The walls of the canon 
rise perpendicularly to varying heights of 500 to 1,500 feet, and at places 
approach so near to each other that an observer looking \ipward from the 
cavernous depths can see only a thin strip of blue sky. Away up on the 
brows of the parallel cliffs are large trees that look like feather dusters, 
and little streams of liquid silver appear in the distance to be pouring their 
contributions from crevice and apex to swell the mad creek that rushes 
with complaining voice down the age-swept gorge. Along this water-bed 
was formerly the roadway, or trail, used by freight-wagons and stage¬ 
coaches, but it is now become the exclusive thoroughfare of the Central 
Branch, so that the magnificent view which the canon affords is before 
the eyes of railroad travelers. 

Less than three miles from Georgetown is Green Take, an exquisite 
body of water which has been very appropriately called the Gem of the 
Mountain. Its translucent depths are animated by myriads of trout that 
are tinged by the green waters to the color of emeralds, while away down 
in its profound recesses is distinguishable a forest of stately trees which 
has been swept into the lake by some glacial avalanche. Not a branch 
appears to have been broken or a position disturbed, for the trees stand 
boldly upright in all their original gracefulness, but through calcareous 
depositions, that are a peculiarity of this lake, they have been converted 
into stone. Thus it is a submerged forest of petrified trees. 

Looking beyond the lake we perceive, some seven miles away, the 
famous Argenta Pass, the summit of which is reached by the highest 
w r agon-road in the world, and from this elevation an almost boundless 
and marvelously picturesque view may be had, stretching away to the west 
.as far as Holy Cross Mount, and eastward to the prairies of Kansas. 

But we have now reached the backbone of the divide and our train MARSHALL FALLS, CLEAR CREEK CANON 








A VIEW Op PIKE’S PEAK, 



























20 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



starts clown the western grade, circling like a hawk out of the sky. Over immense fills, through deep cuts, across bridges, following a 
swiftly-flowing stream, until at length we gain the level valley and go dashing away to Graymont, on the way to Idaho Springs and George¬ 
town. To avoid tunneling in crossing the divide, the railroad winds around the mountain elevations, up a steep grade, over a way 
that has been blasted out of the eternal rocks, until from away up the lofty sides the traveler may look upon a scene of marvelous beauty 
and ruggedness that fades into indistinctness miles below. Leaning out of the car window we view a wondrous panorama, and pause 
•directly to bring our cameras into use, that the scene may be caught and held on paper. There on one side of the depths is Devil’s 
Gate, in close proximity, as it seems, to Bridal Veil Falls, where the clear mountain stream plunges over a precipice of great height 
to join the gamboling creek that rushes away on its errand hundreds of feet below. There, too, is a spider’s web of steel, eighty-six feet 
high, that has served as a passage-way 
for our train across a chasm 300 feet 
wide, whose bottom can scarcely be 
distinguished from our lofty eminence; 
but we see that the track makes a 
complete loop, and that the road 
parallels itself, at a constantly increas¬ 
ing grade, no less than three times. 

All the while that we are winding 
around and crossing our own track, 

Georgetown continues visible, but it is 
dwarfed by the distance to the appear¬ 
ance of a prairie-dog village. 

The picturesqueness of the route 
now changes from wild scenery of lofty 
mountain and the dark awesomeness of 
deep canon, to a park-like landscape, 
through tillable lands, and on to Silver 
Plume, a great feat of mining engineer¬ 
ing, and beautiful beyond description. 

Gray’s Peak rises like a giant phantom 
a few miles beyond, and becomes a 
charming signet in the ring of park 
and town of Graymont that lies near 
its feet. 

Returning east a distance of twenty miles, a junction is reached at Fork’s Creek, where another branch of the Union Pacific leads to 
Central City and Black Hawk. Here a marvelous thing is to be seen: The two towns are only a mile apart, measured by a straight line, 
yet so fearfully rugged is the territory to be traversed that the distance by rail between the places is four miles, and this interval is covered 
by means of a “ Switch Back,” so called because of the tortuous route and the extraordinary grades. All along this vicinity are famous 
mines, and a wealth of mining machinery, that converts the country into a maze of industry, and the mountains into smoking mills and 
cornucopias of silver. In this mountainous region all roads seem to radiate from Denver, and hence to reach other charming scenery 
by means of our camera car, it was necessary to return again for a trip to Gunnison, which is on the South Park Branch. But in order to 


CHALK CLIFFS, CLEAR CREEK CANON. 















A VIEW OF PLATTE CANON. 




22 

facilitate our work it was decided to divide 
•our party, so that one photographer might 
proceed to Gunnison, while the other two 
took the northwest route to Estes and 
Middle Park, where a larger amount of 
work was to be done, and which could be 
^reached only by stage. 

Continuing our trip, therefore, towards 
the southwest, our first stop was in Platte 
Canon, which is twenty miles from Denver, 
and there many exquisite views were taken. 
This canon, formed by the Platte River, 
resembles Clear Creek Canon, but is longer 
and somewhat wilder. The route is over 
Kenosha Hill, which is Alpine in its grand¬ 
eur, and so rugged that the road is as 
sinuous as the trail of a serpent. The 
canon spreads at places until it runs be¬ 
tween gradually sloping steeps, but again 
the walls draw closer, and rise perpendicu¬ 
larly to a sheer height of a thousand feet, 
excluding the sunlight except as it is 
strained at times through a narrow rift, 
until it looks like a pencil of light cleaving 
the pall of night. What mighty forces 
were gathered here in the age of the world’s 
infancy! what terrific convulsions and 
frenzied spasms of nature that rent in twain 
the earth’s envelope and left canons and 
mountains where once were lake and plain! 

Along the way rushes the impetuous 
Platte River, that has torn and eroded a 
great fissure through the rocks, and in so 
doing has left many wonderful incongruities 
to mark its eccentricity as well as power. 

Dome Rock is one of the conspicuous 
curiosities in the canon, resembling as it 
does, the top of a mosque that has sunk just 
behind the wall of beetling cliff, leaving 
a graceful dome as its burial monument. 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



ARGENTA FALLS. 




4 


ALONG THE BREAST OF THE CAfiON WALLS OF THE RIO DE LOS ANIMAS, COLORADO. 


















24 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



But all along, at frequent intervals, spires, with cathedral proportions, shoot skyward, lending an appearance not unlike a vast row of 
churches, where we may fancy nature worships, and the roar of waters is a perpetual hymnal invocation. On the same route, fifty miles 
from Platte Canon, is the Alpine Tunnel, which is reached by the road 
winding about and upward until a height of 11,600 feet is gained, when, 
suddenly, the train makes an abrupt turn, and leaps into the very bowels 
of a mountain from which it emerges after many minutes on the other side, 
and then descends towards the Pacific. This tunnel is one of the most 
remarkable in all the world. It is at the highest point ever reached by 
any railroad in America, and in the center of its 1,773 feet of length is 
the dividing line of altitude between the two oceans. The boring of this 
mighty channel not only involved the naturally stupendous labor of dig¬ 
ging through a mountain, but the work was rendered a hundred fold 
more difficult by reason of the rare atmosphere in which the workmen had 
to labor. In addition to this, 70,000 linear feet of California redwood was 
required for the inside bracing, and this had to be brought up the mountain 
side on the backs of burroes, the only animals of burden that could make 
the ascent. It was a remarkable undertaking; its accomplishment was 
very like a miracle. 

As we emerge from the tunnel, and creep around the perpendicular 
side of the mountain on a roadway barely wide enough to accommodate a 
single train of cars, a bewilderingly magnificent panorama opens to us. 

Away towards the southwest, one hundred and fifty miles, we observe the 
lofty and regular heads of the San Juan range, while a little further west 
we are able to distinguish Uncompaghre Peak, that looks down with 
benignant aspect upon the town of Ouray. There, too, is the green and 
happy valley of the Gunnison, towards the end of which we see Elk 
Mountains and their chief peaks, Mount Gothic and Crested Butte. 

At this great height the snow lies packed in the deep crevices all 
summer through, while upon its borders may be seen beautiful flowers 
nodding their bright heads in the delightful wind that plays about the 
peak. Now we go down the mountain side with brakes set, marveling all 
the way at the natural wonders which have been strewn by some Titanic 
hand along the route. There, on the right, are the Palisades, which 
might be called sculptured rocks, so graceful and artistic that they appear 
to be the creation of the great Phidias, or pupils of his school. Further 
on lies Quartz Valley, like a pearl nestling in depths far below the angry 
waves of giant mountains. Now we cross Quartz Creek, where nature 
laughs with blossoms aud fruitage, through Uncompaghre, around Hair- 
Pin Curve, with the Fossil range to our right, by Juniata Hot Springs, 

and at length arrive at Gunnison. We are now in the midst of the most BRIDAL VEIL FALLS, NEAR DEVIL’S GATE. 


I 










VALLEY OF THE GUNNISON, NEAR SAPINERO. 

















>6 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



nagnificent mountain scenery, and in the heart of a great mining country, where there is bustle above ground and activity and visions of 
tmazing wealth underneath. The town is at an elevation of more than 7,000 feet, but many peaks rise high above it, from which 
extensive views may be had of the Elk Mountain, San Juan and Uncompaghre ranges, while to the southwest a beautiful valley stretches 
iway to mark the devious path of the Gunnison River. 

Having taken many views of this famous region, we turned back again to Denver, and from that point of radiation started for North 
3 ark. Our route was by way of Boulder, at which place we took the narrow-gauge road for Fort Collins. A few miles from Boulder is 
Moulder Canon, a stupendous mountain gorge seventeen miles long, and in places the walls rise to almost the incredible height of 3,000 feet. 
Fhe falls of Boulder Creek are 


lot without interest, but the 
nightiness and awful grandeur 
if the granite canon weighs so 
leavily upon the startled per¬ 
ceptions of the spectator, that 
even the roar of water-fall is 
scarcely heard, all the five 
senses being concentrated in 
hat of sight. The eye is set to 
these terrific preci- 


limbing 


uces of stone; up, up, from 
liclie to niche, from wave upon 
vave of dizzy height, until it 
•ests upon a world on high that 
seems to lift its parapets to the 
sky and bathe its brow in the 
izure of the heavens. Can it 
)e that the little stream that 
'uns complaining along the 
'avine has eroded this mighty 
issure? No, not this alone, for 
vater has been no more than a 
servant of other greater forces 
hat have torn the earth into 
clefts and upheavals. Bursting 

/oleano, denuding glacier, devastating deluge, and cooling fires of internal furnaces that brought a collapse of the earth crust, have all been 
igencies in this work of mighty disturbance. 

The temptation is very great to step aside into Estes Park, and explore Long’s Peak, which, though thirty-six miles distant, looms 
ip in the clear atmosphere like a frosty-crowned giant almost near enough to speak to. But the rest of our party have preceded us and 
ire no doubt in need of photographic supplies, so we hurry on, pausing only long enough to take a snap-shot at Boulder Falls. Reaching 
?ort Collins, we had the good fortune to find the others of our party awaiting us. They had made an extensive trip through Estes Park, 
md had a splendid lot of views as a reward for their labors. It was fortunate, therefore, that we did not stop, for we could have done no 


THE LOOP NEAR GEORGETOWN. 











MARY LAKE AND LONG’S PEAK, ESTES PARK. 



ENTRANCE TO ESTES PARK, FROM ROCKY POINT. 


















28 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


more than duplicate their work, and repeated 
the experiences which they reported to me 
substantially as follows: 

After dividing our party, as already ex¬ 
plained, two of our photographers followed the 
Colorado Central Branch of the Union Pacific 
to Loveland, at which place they side-tracked 
our camera car, and having made preparations 
for the trip, started west to make a tour of 
Estes Park, their principal objective point 
being Long’s Peak. The park is conveniently 
reached by a daily stage-line, which travels 
over a good road and, with the exception of a 
few miles of level plains, traverses a picturesque 
region, with mountains sweeping every side, 
the monotony of which is relieved by many 
lakes, thirty-five of which may be seen from a 
single station, scattered over the plain and 
bathing the foot-hills. The road leads up 
Bald Mountain and Pole Hill to an elevation 
that brings into view the valleys of three 
rivers, and from Park Hill the whole entrancing 
scenery of Estes Park, probably the finest in 
Colorado, is spread out in one unbroken and 
bewildering panorama of astounding beauty. 
It is not all a vision of primeval nature, for 
the vast table-land is abloom with fields of hus¬ 
bandry, and immense herds of cattle give ani¬ 
mation to the seemingly boundless pasturage. 

From Ferguson’s ranch there is a lovely 
prospect of Mummy range, with its conspicu¬ 
ous peaks, aglow with the soft colors of sunset 
in the evening, and mist-crowned in the early 
hours of the day. On the west are the Front 
and Rabbit Ear ranges, whose inaccessible 
heights run up so sharply to where storms 
have their breeding places, that they are 
browned by exposure and look inexpressibly 
bleak. Here, on these wild peaks, safe from 
human foes, bear and mountain sheep have 


HIGH LINE CANAL. SILVER PLUME AND PLATTE RIVER. 






AMERICA’ 



DOME ROCK, BOULDER CANON. 


WONDERLANDS. 


29 


their habitations, and the caterwaul of the puma rings out upon the 
air of lofty desolation as a warning to those who would attempt to gain 
their savage haunts. 

Long’s Peak is hardly more than a half-dozen miles from Table 
Mountain, measured by a straight line, but to pass from one to the other 
is very difficult, except by a long detour, so that the open route is by 
way of Loveland to Ferguson’s ranch, which is near the base of Long’s 
Peak, and from which point the ascent is best made. The east side of 
the mountain is precipitous and hence inaccessible; viewed from this 
side the peak appears so lofty as to almost fade into the cerulean of sky 
depths, and for this reason it has been not inaptly called the American 
Matterhorn. Its apex, seen from below, bears a striking similitude to 
an impregnable citadel surrounded by giant ramparts. 

The road from Ferguson’s passes Mary’s Lake, a lovely body of 
water, thence over a hill to a forest that is begirted by Lily Mountain 
with its monster cliffs impending from a height of *11,500 feet above 
sea-level. The ascent may be made by horses as far as what is known 
as “Boulder Field,” but from that point foot climbing is necessary. 
To secure the finest view, a place called the “Key-hole” must be 
gained, and it is not reached without great exertion of muscle and care¬ 
ful equilibrium while passing along the ledges, since a false step may 
be attended by serious result. Having reached the Key-hole, the sight 
that rewards the climber is sublimely grand, for he is brought to face a 
vertical wall of sheer 2,000 feet, extending up to within what appears 
to be one or two hundred feet of the apex. The altitude is so great 
that a finer prospect, perhaps, never greeted human vision, for the 
world seems to be spread out for examination. A little higher up the 
scene changes, but is scarcely so beautiful, for every additional foot 
taken upward increases the indistinctness of the valley below and the 
mountain scenery in the distance. But by the aid of a field-glass we 
make out Big Thompson River, Boulder Canon, and some remarkable 
columnar cliffs that exhibit fantastic shapes, sculptured by the erratic 
hand of nature. Mountains appear like legions to the right, to the left, 
upon all sides, but we are now above them all, and towards the south¬ 
east, sixty miles away, we see a smoke-cloud that has formed from the 
Denver Smelters. Still further southward are visible the hazy heads of 
Pike’s Peak and its twin brother, Cheyenne Mountain, while a hundred 
miles north are dimly distinguishable the range of bluffs east of the city 
of Cheyenne. 

After gaining the summit our party had a still better view, for 














AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



30 

a bright sun liad now come out from behind clouds that had before obscured 
that the panorama was greatly increased. They were lifted so far above the 
the far southwest, the Mount of the Holy Cross, while beside it were the 
very pale outlines of Jackson Peak, the two almost blending into one. 

As they descended on the northeastern side, suddenly their sight was 
arrested by a lake slumbering in a little basin that had been scooped out of 
the granite sides of the mountain. It is almost immediately under the 
vertical cliffs, and so clear that the observer seems to look through it, as he 
would through a looking-glass, upon great walls which appear below, but 
are in reality reflections of the precipice examined when making the ascent. 
Lily Mountain was in bold outline on the right, where reposed another lake 
of somewhat greater size, whose water appeared to feed a stream that ran 
gamboling down a deep gorge into the plain which it nourished. 

On every side there were evidences of glacial erosion, not only in the 
form of bowlders and debris, but in lateral moraines, where the glacier had 
left deposits, and in gorges where great granite blocks had been tumbled, 
over which in places the water cantered and fell in beautiful sheets. In 
one place, towards the base, were found many small aspen trees cut down, 
and most frequently the trunks were divested of their bark, and the tender 
limbs were missing. Investigating the cause, it was directly discovered 
to be the work of beavers, several of whose dams were perceived in a creek 
that ran through a beautiful meadow land, but no one of the party was 
able to catch siojit of the wary animals. 

Our party being satisfied with their trip in the park, and especially 
with the ascent of Long’s Peak, where they had secured more than a score 
of magnificent photographic views, returned to Loveland to be rejoined by 
us at Fort Collins, as will be presently described. 

We tarried a short while at Fort Collins, then set off for Mason City, 
eighty miles distant, the road to which leads through the world-famous Cache 
La Poudre (Powder River) region. After leaving the south fork of this 
stream we passed Monitor Peak, crossed the Big Laramie, and brought up at 
Medicine Bow range. North Park proper lies west of the range, but the phys¬ 
ical features of the immediately eastern district are almost identical, and to 
traverse the whole would have required more than a month. The park is 
an elevated plain 9,000 feet above sea level, and embraces an area of about 
2,500 square miles. Properly speaking, it is a fertile valley enclosed by 
spurs and branches of the Rocky Mountains, and is so seldom visited that 
there are as yet no resorts for travelers, and the stage is a poor reliance for 
reaching the most interesting districts. We also experienced insurmountable 
obstacles, which compelled us to abandon our purpose of making a tour of 


his rays, and so completely dissipated the misty atmosphere 
Front range that beyond the divide there broke into view, in 


BOULDER FALLS. 






MOUNTAIN OF THE HOLY CROSS, COLORADO 



















32 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


the park. The only possible way of going through the district and to 
chief points of photographic interest (pardon the expression) would have 
been by horses, and these were not procurable because the country is de¬ 
void of settlements; besides, we were unprovided with camp equipment. 
We saw the mountains rising on every side into jagged spires, and occa¬ 
sional lakes nestling on their bosoms, but they were inaccessible to us, 
and after making so long a journey we were compelled to return without 
accomplishing anything worthy to be narrated. Photographs of some 
mineral springs bubbling up icy-cold in stony basins, wide stretches of 
landscape, hemmed in by a wall of mountains, and some fine views of 
scenery along the Cache La Poudre, was all the reward we had for days of 
uncomfortable traveling, much of which was done on foot, and on horses 
borrowed for short tours. We traversed enough of the district, however, 
to satisfy us of its beauty and fertility, and that the region was a vast 
game park, in which mountain sheep, bear, deer, pumas were numerous, 
and ptarmigan abundant. We caught sight of several wild sheep and had 
a far-away (not too far) look at a cinnamon, or grizzly bear, we were 
not able to positively decide which, and not being equipped for enter¬ 
taining game of that character were indisposed to permit curiosity to 
supersede judgment. 

Returning to Fort Collins, we retraced our route to Longmount, 
from which point we determined to visit Table Mountain, near by, 
and Mount Hallett, a little further towards the west. To carry this 
decision into effect it was necessary to make some provision for con¬ 
veyance and camping, as the mountain cannot be explored in a day, 
and a few evenings must be spent in camp in order to do the work 
satisfactorily. Fortunately, supplies are easy to procure, and being 
fully provided, we set out a merry party on a pleasant errand. We 
reached the foot of Table Mountain towards the close of the day, and 
went into camp beside a beautiful little stream that had its source some¬ 
where up the gorge that cleft one side of the mountain. At this point 
we were also able to take some pretty views of the imposing scenery by 
which we were surrounded. 

Near noon of the following day we accomplished the ascent, and 
from that vantage point surveyed a scene of bewildering grandeur. The 
wind, however, blew a gale that made our position extremely uncom¬ 
fortable, and one of our party lost his hat, that was borne away and 
dropped into an abyss of almost measureless depth. There were mount¬ 
ains to the west that seemed to hang on the edge of the horizon, 
and down, far down, below us was an immense expanse of bowlders 



GRAYMONT MOUNTAIN, MIDDLE PARK. 







SADDLE ROCK, AT THE SUMMIT OF THE PASS. 



WITHIN THE GATES, GARDEN OF THE GODS. 


















34 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



that had evidently once been the sport of a glacier. Indeed, the glacier was still there, a great solid field of compacted snow that at mid¬ 
day hugged the shadow side of the mountain, but was evidently moving gradually, imperceptibly, towards the gorge. Water was pouring 
from the base and forming waterfalls, cascades and swift streams, showing that heat radiation from the earth was pielting the glacier more 
rapidly than the sun’s rays. The effect was extremely beautiful, for the afternoon sun was changing the edges of the snow-pack into 
beautiful reflections of aqua-marine, and waves of light shimmered above the glacier that made the ice coverlet scintillant with color. 

Table Mountain is a truncated cone, from which fact it takes its name; but it is deeply fissured on every side, and on the west side 
there is an appalling gorge, over the edges of which, in places, colossal sheets of ice impend, vast ledges they appear, threatening the 
vegetation far down below, and rendering traveling along the slopes very dangerous. Having photographed Table Mountain and the fine 
scenery that is tributary, we 
descended and passed over to 
Mount Hallett, where we were 
delighted to find views of yet 
greater grandeur. The way to 
this mount is necessarily over 
Table Mountain and into Estes 
Park, the solid ramparts of 
rocks which surround the park, 
as far as Willow Canon, pre¬ 
venting the access of pack 
animals. 

Gaining the base of 
Table Mountain, we followed 
up Timber Creek over a natural 
roadway until the foot of Hal¬ 
lett was reached. The way was 
easy and pleasant, being level 
and almost floored with moss 
and flowers, while many species 
of birds flitted across our path, 
and in and out through the trees 

and bushes, with voices of tune- 
ful lee TORREY’S PEAK, MIDDLE PARK, COLORADO. 

As we ascended the mountain on the northeastern side, a magnificent view was presented down a deep gorge. A little higher up, 
and as we veered towards the west, we saw, a thousand feet below us, a deep, dark lake whose sides were walled, giving to it the appearance 
of a crater that had now become a lake basin. Still further up the steep, in a ravine, was another lake, the edges of which served to mark 
both the timber and suow line. Away off in the southeast was Long’s Peak, frowning in bleak desolation above a lake that hugged its 
feet. On every side the scenery was ruggedly sublime, while immediately at our right was a great chasm with a vertical wall of stone fully 
one thousand feet high. 

The timber was now below us, and our horses picked their way over an indistinct trail through patches of snow. Occasionally, there 
were suspicious places, where the snow was deeply impacted, which might conceal a treacherous way, a chasm bridged with nothing more 





THE GREAT WESTWARD FLOOD OF EMIGRATION—CROSSING THE PLATTE RIVER IN 1868 (From a painting) 







AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


substantial than cakes of ice. Vet, on this lonesome mountain, chilled by perpetually arctic winds, swathed by eternal snows, and covered 
by giant bowlders that menaced everything by their apparent instability, there was no scarcity of animal life. The mountain rat, chipmunk, 
woodchuck, Rocky Mountain sheep and a few lions make this uninviting region their haunt, while ptarmigan, or mountain grouse, are 
fairly plentiful. One enthusiastic photographer who climbed Hallett some years before, claimed to have found a herd of mountain sheep 
so tame that he was able to take their pictures, but none of us had such good fortune. 

At one point of the elevation we had an enrapturing view of Middle Park and Grand Lake, whose waters looked like a vast sea of 

quicksilver, on which the sunlight danced in a glorious reflection. North Park might have been also visible from this same lofty point of 

observation but for the inter¬ 
vention of Mummy Mountain, 
the monumental mark of Medi¬ 
cine Bow range, far to the 
northwest, too distant for our 
cameras to reproduce the view 
with satisfaction. 

Our visits to Table 
Mountain and Mount Hallett 
had proven so delightful that 
our previously contemplated 
trip to Middle Park was now 
undertaken with the most 
pleasant anticipations. Re¬ 
turning to Longmont, we pro¬ 
ceeded over the Union Pacific 
to Sunset, an arm of the road 
that stretches out into the 
Front range until it fairly 
grasps the beautiful scenery of 
that marvelously grand region. 

Georgetown would have been 
a more convenient point of 
departure for Midland Park, 
but we chose to avoid sta¬ 
ging, and by means of pack FREMONT S PASS, NORTH PARK. 

animals to reach the park by the quickest, even though it was a more troublesome, route. Middle Park is separated from North Park by 
an east and west sweep of the great Continental Divide, and like its northern sister is completely encircled by lofty mountains, whose 
sentinels are Long’s Peak, Gray’s Peak and Mount Lincoln, with elevations above sea level of respectively 14,500, 14,200 and 14,300 feet. 
The elevation of the park itself is about 7,500 feet, and its area some 3,000 square miles, or about one-tliird less than the State of Connecti¬ 
cut. It is drained principally by the Blue and Grand Rivers, whose waters flow generally through smiling meadows until they escape from 
the park. We traveled by horse through Berthoud Pass to Hot Sulphur Springs, which is on a small tributary of Grand River, and only 
about twelve miles from the south boundary of the park. From this point we went to Grand Lake, the beautiful body of water that we 









DODGE’S BLUFF, CANON OF GRAND RIVER 





















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


33 



had seen from the heights of Mount Hallett. If the scene was grand when viewed from that distant elevation, it was sublimely picturesque 
when we reached its shores. The western shore line of the lake washes the vertical base of towering mountains, which enclose it on three 
sides, and throw their giant shadows into its pellucid depths, where reflections of brown peaks mingle with the beautiful green of tall 
tufted pines. Its bed appears to be a glacier basin, for all about are cliffs that bear distinct marks of an ice deluge that thousands of years 
ago, perhaps, invaded this retreat of nature and tore asunder the earth, ground its way through stone, scoured the face of the mountains, 
and scooped a depression in the plain. 

Strange it is that near the shores of this lake the water is singularly crystalline, while towards the center it is dark as midnight. 
The lake is also a treacherous body, subject to appalling disturbments from inrushing storms that first gather on the surrounding peaks and 
then swoop down to break with sudden 
and appalling force upon its expansive 
bosom. No wonder that from time 
immemorial, the Ute Indians have 
regarded the lake with superstitious 
fears, and tell ghostly stories of its 
treachery. Upon one occasion, as an 
old Indian related, a band of Utes were 
encamped upon its shores, pleasantly 
and profitably engaged in trout fishing. 

They had their women and children 
with them, and having prepared for a 
stay of some weeks, they had rafts 
made of pine logs, and it was from 
these they did their fishing. While 
thus engaged they were attacked by a 
war party of Arrapahoes, their impla¬ 
cable enemies. The Utes committed 
their wives and children to the rafts, 
which they pushed far out into the 
lake, and then engaged with their fero¬ 
cious adversaries, whom, after a des¬ 
perate battle, they repulsed. During 
the fight, however, a storm arose on the 

lake, which quickly lashed the water GRAND LAKE ’ MIDDLE PARK ’ 

into such fury that the piercing cries of the helpless women and children were scarcely audible above the breaking waves and screech of 
savage wind. When the Utes turned from pursuing their enemies, they saw that a more dangerous foe had attacked their helpless ones. 
The rafts were quickly broken up by wild surges of the infuriated lake, and every woman and child was swallowed up. The Indians, 
whose minds are peculiarly susceptible to impressions of a supernatural character, were prompt to attribute the calamity to a manifes¬ 
tation of the Great Spirit’s anger, and since that fatal event they have regarded the lake as being the haunt of water demons, and no 
Indian has since that calamitous incident dared to venture upon its bosom. 

From Grand Take we followed its outlet some twenty miles south, and entered a beautiful valley of Grand River, where the grass 








AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


39 



was long and green, the sky a beautiful indigo-blue, and the mountain scenery around us was magnificent. A marvelously clear atmos¬ 
phere made the distance deceptive, so that peaks which were fifty miles away appeared to be scarcely five. From one point of observation 
we swept the ragged horizon with our enraptured eyes, and plainly perceived a battalion of well-known mountains that locked their massive 
arms around Middle Park like loving guardsmen. Roundtop lifted its head to gaze into the mysterious depths of Grand Lake; and far 
beyond, Long’s Peak, the great gray sentinel of Estes Park, loomed up like a cloud gathering inspiration from the heavens. A little to the 
right, Elk Mountain projects its snowy cap far into the sky and looks up into the face of its taller kinsmen. Following the waving lines 
of peak upon peak, our eyes caught sight of a pass through which a river had found its way, and behind the interval were the faded fronts 
of Medicine Bow range. A little further to the left there is another rent in the continuity of mountains, which closer inspection discovers 

to us is Gore’s Canon of Grand River, 
where it leaves the park through a fis¬ 
sure made in the eruptive rocks quite 
three miles long, and in places nearly 
2,000 feet deep. So perpendicular are 
these cliffs that a person standing upon 
the dizzy brink may drop a stone into 
the rushing river below. 

If we look towards the southeast, 
across a stretch of sage-brush, we see 
the peak of heroic Powell, the most 
majestic elevation in the Park range, 
singular not only by reason of its cloud¬ 
piercing height, but also because it 
looks through the hazy distance like a 
mountain of sapphire, while behind it 
are lofty stretches of peaks with strag¬ 
gling locks of white, where snow has 
gathered in the wrinkles of their cheeks. 

Our rambles through Middle Park 
had been so pleasant that it was with 
some reluctance we turned our steps 
eastward again, to pursue the work of 
photographing scenery in more south- 
GORE S CANON, MIDDLE PARK. erly g e i(j S- \y e rea ched Sunset after 

an absence of twelve days, and were soon after switched on to the North Branch of the Union Pacific for Denver. Thence, our route 
was south to Colorado Springs and Manitou, where, as the following chapter will show, we repeated our delightful experiences in Middle 
Park, and saw even greater wonders. 



































CHAPTER II. 

MANITOU, THE MIGHTY! 



r HE glory of Colorado, in the splendor of its waterfalls, the awesomeness of its mountains, the wealth of its mines, and the 
picturesqueness of its natural parks, is by uo means confined to those Rocky Mountain districts which we have just pictured and 
described, for greater marvels remain to be spoken of, and pictorially represented. Returning to Denver, our tour took us southward, 
across a plain that hugs the gnarled bosom of the Continental Divide, by the pearl of Palmer Lake, and on to Colorado Springs 
and Manitou, the twin cities that sit at the feet of Pike’s Peak. Here we are compelled to pause in a spell of mighty wonderment 
before the amazing prodigies of a riotously eccentric nature, that bursts into an exuberance of dashing cascades, top-lofty 
mountains, darkling canons, gruesome formations, monolithic spires, babbling brooks and magnetic springs. Here are God’s acres of 
tumultuous stone, grand, amazing, chaotic, aberrant; a pantheon of forces, a Jovian council, a mythologic assemblage that sits like a 
Sanhedrim on the issues of Titanic upheaval, erosion, conglomeration and elemental disturbance. There, rising like a giant specter above 

its lesser brothers, and dipping 
its hoary head into the milky 
baldric of the heavens, stands 
Pike’s Peak, the grand old sen¬ 
tinel of millenniums, with sides 
gashed by tumbling cataracts 
and yellow with quivering 
leaves of the frosted aspen. So 
lofty that the stars can almost 
whisper to it, and the clouds, 
when tired of sailing through 
the sky, circle and settle upon 
its peak, while eternal night 
sleeps undisturbed, save by the 
lion’s call, in the deep gorges 
that split its base. 

The first white man who 
caught sight of this towering 
mountain was Lieutenant Zeb- 
ulon Pike, who was sent out 
by the Government in the year 
1806 to make an exploration of 
the Territory of Louisiana and 
the Provinces of New Spain, 
a district now characterized as 

THE SEAL AND BEAR, GARDEN OF THE GODS. the great Southwest. From his 


41 










42 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


diary of Saturday, November 15th, 1806, we quote the description of 
his discovery: 

“Passed two deep creeks, and many high points of rocks ; also 
large herds of buffaloes. At two o’clock in the afternoon I thought I 
could distinguish a mountain to our right, which appeared like a small 
blue cloud; viewed it with the spy-glass and was still more confirmed 
in my conjecture, and in half an hour it appeared in full view before 
us. When our small party arrived on the hill, they with one accord 
gave three cheers to the Mexican Mountains.” 

On the 26th, following, this intrepid explorer attempted an 
ascent of Cheyenne Mountain, ten miles to the east of Pike’s Peak, 
from which to make an observation of the more lofty eminence, which 
he thus describes: 

“ Expecting to return to our camp that evening, we left all our 
blankets and provisions at the foot of the mountain, killed a deer of 
a new species, and hung its skin on a tree with some meat. We 
commenced ascending; found the way very difficult, being obliged to 
climb up rocks sometimes almost perpendicular ; and after marching all 
day we encamped in a cave without blankets, victuals or water. We had 
a fine clear sky while it was snowing at the bottom. On the side of the 
mountain we found only yellow and pitch pine; some distance up we 
saw buffalo, and higher still, the new species of deer and pheasants. 

“Thursday, 27th November.—Arose hungry, thirsty, and ex¬ 
tremely sore, from the uneveness of the rocks on which we had lain 
all uiglit; but we were amply compensated for our toil by the sublimity 
of the prospect below. The unbounded prairie was overhung with 
clouds, which appeared like the ocean in a storm, wave piled on wave, 
and foaming, whilst the sky over our heads was perfectly clear. Com¬ 
menced our march up the mountain and in about an hour arrived at 
the summit of this chain; here we found the snow middle-deep, and 
discovered no sign of bird or beast inhabiting this region. The ther¬ 
mometer, which stood at nine degrees above zero at the foot of the 
mountain, here fell to four degrees below. The summit of the Grand 
Peak, which was entirely bare of vegetation, and covered with snow, 
now appeared at the distance of fifteen or sixteen miles from us, and 
as high again as we had ascended. It would have taken a whole day’s 
march to have arrived at its base, whence I believe no human being 
could have ascended to its summit. * * * * The clouds from 

below had now ascended the mountain, and entirely enveloped the 
summit, on which rest eternal snows.” 



THE STALACTITE ORGAN, GRAND CAVERNS. 








f 







44 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


Being convinced in his own mind of its inaccessibility, Lien- 
tenant Pike contented himself with the above brief notes in his diary, 
little thinking that his name would become perpetuated in the discovery, 
and that for all the ages thereafter Pike’s Peak would be one of the most 
famous of American mounts. 

Not again was the lonely desolation of the mountain, or the mar¬ 
velous scenery about its base, disturbed by the invasion of explorers until, 
forty-one years later, Geo. F. Ruxton came as a hunter to view its 
grandeur and make his camp within its game-haunted shadows. Soon 
afterwards gold was discovered in the vicinity, and then quickly followed 
a rush of adventurers whose hardy spirit accomplished that which Pike 
was fearful to undertake. An ascent of the peak was now made and 
the altitude ascertained to be 14,174 feet above the sea level. 

Simultaneously, through the exploration of industrious prospect¬ 
ors, all the many amazingly curious formations which now render the 
region one of incomparable natural marvels were discovered, and the 
settlements of Manitou and Colorado Springs were presently made. 

Pike’s Peak has been, since the time of Ruxton’s ascent, an 
object of great interest to travelers, and as early as 1852 a rough foot- 
trail was established to the summit, which was greatly improved 
twenty years later so as to admit the passage of vehicles. In the mean¬ 
time, the towns of Manitou and Colorado Springs had grown steadily 
and the number of visitors increased until some one conceived the idea 
of constructing a railroad from the base to the summit. This idea was 
seized upon by some eastern capitalists in 1884, and a large capital being 
subscribed for the purpose, the work of building this unique road was 
begun. The original company, however, met with difficulties which they 
were unable to overcome for lack of capital, and in 1888 a second organi¬ 
zation, under the title of Manitou & Pike’s Peak Railway Company, 
succeeded the first corporation, and adopting what is known as the Abt 
Cog-wheel System of Mountain Climbing, renewed the work thus 
interrupted. As the higher altitudes were reached the air became so 
rare that labor was extremely difficult, so that the strongest men were 
unable to exert themselves for more than a few minutes at a time. In 
place of wagons burros were employed to carry on their sturdy little 
backs all the needful materials of ties, rails, tools and spikes, up the steep 
mountain side, and without them the obstacles would have been insuper¬ 
able. But thus the work went on until the 20th of October, 1890, 
when the last spike was driven and the highest railroad in the world 
received its finishing stroke. Special locomotives and cars were built 



JUMBO TUNNEL, GRAND CAVERNS. 







THE CARRIAGE ROAD UP PIKE’S PEAK. 


t 

















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


46 

and by the use of cog-wheels the pinnacle of Pike’s Peak was thereafter to 
be gained comfortably, if not swiftly. The length of the road leading 
to the summit is nine and one-quarter miles, and at times the grade seems 
positively appalling (being 25 percent.) as the noisily-laboring engine 
pushes the passenger coach up the devious way, over great bowlders that 
have been flung down by some Titan from immense heights above; under 
overhanging brows of threatening cathedrals of stone; over mad-dasliing 
waterfalls; through ever-green forests of silver pines, then into groves of 
dwarf aspens, until at length the route reaches up and on above the tim¬ 
ber line. The steepness of the way still continues, but there are no longer 
abutting rocks, nor rush of water; the mountain now becomes a measureless 
pile of broken stones, between which the chipmunk and woodchuck play 
hide and seek; mists of clouds begin to gather, the snow line shows itself 
beyond the breath of summer, and a cold wind rushes around the peak 
making sport of the enterprise that invaded their frigid solitude. 

After two hours of pushing and climbing the train ceases its deep 
respirations and stands seemingly exhausted before the stone observatory 
that crowns the peak. Ah, now what a view, when the clouds pass 
away and the sun bathes with golden splendor the panorama that lies in 
the greater charm of indistinctness many leagues below! Towards the 
west and south and north is a mighty army of mountains, in companies 
and batallions, bold, rugged, majestic; always standing in review before the 
Captain and Creator of worlds who seems to have halted His regiment for 
inspection before an impending battle; while away towards the east 
spreads the fading prairies, losing themselves in the horizon; and down 
below, in a long stretch of landscape, is Colorado Springs, with its 
intersecting streets looking like a corn-field, and its smoke-stacks like 
scare-crows. 

At other times a terrible snow-storm may be raging on the peak, 
while summer sunshine bathes the plains below; or, standing under the 
arch of a clear sky, the summit visitor may see the rolling clouds gathering 
into scrolls of darkness, and the livid lightning running through the 
storm that is breaking in torrential rain away down the mountain side. 
So that winter and summer, storm and sunshine, have their eternal meet¬ 
ing place on the age-swept breast of this giant peak, and at this trysting 
place of the extreme seasons is one of the most beautiful lakes that ever 
nestled in the bosom of a mountain. 

One of the most picturesque, grand and charming routes in the 
world is Ute Pass, which starts out of Manitou and climbs around mount¬ 
ains, through canons, and emerges into a roadway that leads direct to 



TEMPLE OF ISIS, WILLIAM’S CANON. 










THE JAWS OF CLEAR CREEK CANON. 

















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


48 

Eeadville. The most beautiful section of this pass, however, is in sight of 
Manitou, where it rises with bold precipitation around the mountain side 
and passes Rainbow Falls, which has a perpendicular descent of seventy- 
five feet, and looks down into Cascade Canon, that is weirdly wild and 
awesomely imposing. The beauty of the pass is not more in the rugged 
margin, bordered with precipice and waterfall, than in the marvelous 
coloring of the roadway and abutting rocks of sandstone which at a 
distance appear like the petrified primaries of the rainbow wrapped 
around the mountain. 

As the road winds upward a mile from Manitou, a branch strikes 
off from Ute Pass, and continuing another half mile around and up the 
mountain the visitor finds the way abruptly terminated by the entrance 
to a giant cave known as the Grand Caverns. Like most places to which 
visitors are attracted by flamboyant advertisements, these caves are not so 
wonderful as they have been represented, yet they possess considerable 
interest. The corridors are spacious and comparatively level, with here 
and there formations of stalactites and stalagmites of considerable beauty, 
though never large. Each compartment has been given a romantic and 
attractive name intended to increase the imagination, and give support 
to the marvelous tales with which guides entertain visitors, such as 
Canopy Avenue, Alabaster Hall, Stalactite Hall, Opera House, Concert 
Hall, Jewel Casket, Bridal Chamber, etc. The one principal object of 
interest in the Grand Caverns—a curiosity indeed—is what has been 
denominated the “Grand Pipe Organ of Musical Stalactites,’’ a forma¬ 
tion which gives forth a great variety of sounds, capable, under the 
skilful touch of a player, of producing really ear-entrancing music. An 
“organist” is employed to entertain visitors by performing many familiar 
instrumental pieces, which, emanating from such a strange instrument, 
and echoing through the torch-lighted chambers of the grotto, produce a 
charming effect not easily forgotten. 

In another compartment, particularly dark, if not noisome, and 
partitioned off by a grating to prevent profanation, are deposited some 
very ancient skeletons, which are said to have been found inurned here 
by the original cave discoverer in 1881. The photographer, by a trick, 
has pictured these bones as gigantic in size, whereas in fact they are 
slightly smaller than those of modern men. 

A half-mile further around the mountain, towards William’s 
Canon, and approached by a long stair-way that leads down to a dusky, 
rock-hewn platform, is the entrance to the “ Cave-of-tlie-Winds,” as 
unforbidding a place as Mephistopheles himself could choose for his abode. 



PILLAR OF JUPITER, WILLIAM’S CANON. 








TRIPLE FALLS, CHEYENNE CANON, COLORADO. 


























AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


5 ° 

This cave is nothing more than a tunnel, too narrow to admit the passage of a fat man without squeezing, and with ceilings so low as to 
compel a person of ordinary height to keep a stooped position. It is up and down steep stair-ways, across chasms of uncertain depths, and 
over obstructions which are quite enough to exhaust the visitor before half the cavern is traversed. The stalactites that are found here are 
very small, but often clustered in resemblance of chrysanthemums and other composite plants. Like the Grand Caverns, every little 
chamber in the Cave-of-tlie-Winds is designated by some curious or charm-impelling name, such as Cascade Hall, Canopy Hall, Boston 
Avenue, Diamond Hall, Hall of Beauty, Dante’s Inferno, Crystal Palace, etc.; while the coral-like stalactites are represented by the tricky 
photographer as being of imposing size and bewildering splendor. 

Emerging from the stifling, half-artificial Cave-of-the-Winds, and passing down the hill a few yards, a magnificent view of William’s 
Canon bursts upon the enraptured vision of the spectator, the contrast from the dismal and disanpointing cave lending additional sublimity 
to the scene. The south entrance to this herculean gorge is within a short walk of Manitou, 
and at the very door-way the walls rise up perpendicularly to a stupendous height and in 
fantastic forms that positively bewilder with a grandeur and beauty almost unexcelled by 
any scenery in the world. This gigantic gash in the mountain is evidently the effect of 
erosion, the result of a rushing torrent that drove down for centuries through the pass until 
it wore out a bed hundreds of feet deep and then found other outlet, or became absorbed in 
the process of drying-up which the world is undergoing. High upon the sides of this 
wondrous channel may be seen the distinct markings of glacial drift in deposits of shell-fish 
and bowlders, while in the bed there are fragments of tufa, betraying the action of volcanic 
fires which burned out ages upon ages ago. 

Two miles north of Manitou, and reached by a perfect roadway, over which carnage 
driving is a supreme pleasure, is the gate-way to that chaotically curious and fantastically 
marvelous district known as the Garden of the Gods. I know not who gave name to this 
region of grotesque formations, but its appropriateness lends belief that it was christened by 
one who had in mind the heroes of some eastern mythology, the Assyrian or Chinese, or 
the witchcrafts of the Samians. The Greeks, the Romans, and Egyptians conceived their 
gods as physically perfect, symmetrically beautiful; the idols of these people could never 
have suggested the wild, distorted, conglomerate forms that are marshalled in this garden 
of sweet confusion. Yet, the Greeks personified evil in horrid forms, and we have here 
their conception of deep iniquity done in nature’s sculpturings. 

The old legends tell us of the Sabbat, a nocturnal assembly at which demons and 
sorcerers celebrated their revels, and to the imaginative mind, stored with remembrances of 
the tales wherein are described the riot of nameless things and loathsomely fearful 
personages around the throne of Satan, it is easy to fancy this spot as the assembling place, and the strange forms of stone, that sit like 
dumb monstrosities waiting the call of a master, as the bodies of maleficent devils petrified in the very midst of their orgies. There on 
that mound squats old Sagittary, the man-beast who shot arrows of lightning from his bow, until he was struck down by a bolt of his own 
forging. A little beyond is the foul witch Sycorax, the dam of Caliban, whose raven wings shelter a demoniac progeny. In that depression, 
which looks afar like a seething quagmire, sits Abaddon, the promoter of wars, combustions and plagues, his face awry with fretful anxiety 
to renew his course of destruction. Behind a mound, that may well be called a breastwork, stand dEgaeon, Cottus and Gyges, the brother 
triplets, each with a hundred arms and fifty heads, who made war upon the Titans and then stormed Olympus with stones plucked from the 
core of dEtua. Still further up the hillside, protruding from a gash in the side of a giant bowlder of red sandstone, is the distorted face of 



ANVIL ROCK, GARDEN OF THE GODS. 








RAINBOW FALLS, UTE PASS. 























AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



52 

Hagen, that demon dwarf of a single eye, whose devilish claws tore out the heart of Siegfried. Everywhere, to the right and left, are these 
garish and ghastly remembrancers of the tales that make children 
crouch closer to grandmother’s knees, and people the darkness with 
forms infuriate. But the comical side is not wanting; for nature is 
protean in this godless garden of quaint conceits done in stone. If we 
have cause to laugh, it is at the Brobdingnagian frog that we see to the 
left of the door of the garden, sitting beneath a mushroom, with his 
gaze towards the mountain. But there is a whole settlement of giant 
fungi, each capable of giving shelter to a pond-full of modern-day frogs; 
and we can only explain the absence of other representatives of the 
croaking batrachia by the possibility that the one who has his home 
under the petrified umbrella was a political boss in his time and com¬ 
pelled all his followers to remain out in the rain when the big wet spell 
set in. On the first rock that we pass as we enter the garden, is the 
perfect outline of a stag’s head, with antlers laid back and nose high, 
as if startled by the sudden baying of the hounds; while a few yards 
within the entrance is a huge stone of two hundred tons weight perched 
like a spinning top upon the shoulder of another, so nicely balanced 
that every wind seems to threaten its stability, and yet centuries have 
failed to disturb its equilibrium. Still further on, and to the left, are 
to be seen a duck complete in all its outlines, and as demure as though 
she was hatching a brood. Then in succession is shown an alligator 
stretched out at full length, taking a siesta as natural as though it had 
life. Next in this procession of statuary wonders are Punch and Judy, 
peaceful folks in vermilion raiment, with faces full of righteous satis¬ 
faction, as if they were on their way to church. Punch’s cap is a little 
the worse for the long service it has seen, and Judy has a rent in her 
gown, but they affect 110 false pride and are evidently content with 
their fortune. Why should they not be happy, when within a few 
yards of them there is a poor old washer-woman bending over a tub, and 
a child tugging at her skirts? Certainly by contrast their lot is infinitely 
more bearable. And the washer-woman has been at her hard task as 
long as Punch and Judy have been on their way to the meeting house. 

As we advance further into this museum of wonders, and turn 
our eyes away from the imps, reptiles and broad-smiling people of 
stone, our gaze is arrested by still stranger freaks of nature. There, 
before us, in awful sublimity, is the red sentinel who guards the north 
portals of the garden, flanked on either side by cathedrals and fortresses 
of amazing size, and aflame with brilliant coloring. There are thin 

slabs of sandstone standing on edge and lifting their heads a hundred TOWER OF BABEL, GARDEN OF THE GODS. 












OBSERVATORY ON THE SUMMIT OF PIKE’S PEAK. 























AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


54 


feet high, on which the gods or witches have sculptured images of 
birds, animals, and moving caravans. A herculean lion is crouching 
on the peak of one, looking towards the north, where a bear and seal 
are eyeing each other from a lofty perch, uncertain of their safety, 
and undetermined whether to attack or retreat. Away up on the pin¬ 
nacle of another peak sits a little old man in a rusty coat, but semi¬ 
respectable in a plug hat, very intently contemplating a coaeh-and-four 
driven by a pioneer stage engineer muffled to the chin in a shag over¬ 
coat, and bowling along over the dangerous comb of the Tower of Babel. 
Turning to look back, our sight is arrested by the towering form 
of Pike’s Peak, and a view that is incomparably and overwhelmingly 
grand. 

Leaving the Garden of the Gods, and passing massive hills of 
gypsum, virgin in their whiteness and soft velvety reflection, the road¬ 
way north lies through a large prairie-dog village, where scores of 
wish-ton-wishes, of Indian name, scamper through the grass and lift 
themselves into comical postures on their little mounds to watch the 
carriage roll by. To the left is Glen Eyrie, where a few disaffected 
gods seem to have started a small, independent park of wonders, chief 
of which is Major D 01110 , a monolith of red sandstone thirty feet 
in circumference and more than one hundred feet tall; a frowning 
shaft with slightly inclined head, as if threatening the lesser forms 
about its base. 

Five miles still beyond, nature has opened another museum 
of surprises, which some human invader has named Monument Park, 
but which might better be called Fiddler’s Green, or the Devil’s 
Ante-Chamber, for tradition tells us that the former place is located 
just five miles this side of Hades, aud that all fiddlers en route stop 
there twenty minutes for refreshments. This assembling place of 
monstrosities; this parliament of satyr, sibyl, succuba and grim-visaged 
ogres, is rarely visited, not particularly because the sights superinduce 
nightmare, but probably because it is at the end of a long and dusty 
way, and the gruesome formations are not numerous. The views 
which delight those who love to fellowship with the incongruous and 
distempered products of nature, are pillars of white—almost calcareous— 
sandstone which the wind and sand have eroded into fantastic and outre 
shapes, leaving a top strata of dark limestone to complete the multitude 
of strange images. 

Here we find the Devil’s Anvil, apparently used by his swarthy 
majesty in the dim ages in fashioning his roasting spits. And near by is 



UTE PASS, NEAR MAN1TOU. 
















GATEWAY TO GARDEN OF THE GODS. 






























AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



5 6 

a concourse attending what is known as The Dutch Wedding, where all the goodly company are disattired outrageously, for not one has a 
stitch to his or her back. But they are more decent folks than old Mother Grundy, who stands in a nook to herself, trying to gossip with 
her shabby surroundings, and looking for all the world like a hag who has lost her teeth through salivation. Not far below her is The 
Idiot, as repulsive appearing a fellow as ever violated the laws of nature, and who might well be the offspring of a harridan like Mrs. 
Grundy. But there are other shapes and misshapes scarcely less wonderful; and if the visitor is at all imaginative, they take forms that are 
variable and astounding. Dore never pictured creatures of his fancy more weird than the wind-sculptures of Monument Park. 

Turning back, and passing south of Colorado Springs some four or five miles, we are brought again into the Rocky range 
and enter at one of the Cheyenne Canons, between beetling 
brows of tremendously high cliffs, through which a mad- 
dashing water-course has eaten its way. Whether we visit 
North or South Canon, the view is augustly sublime and 
awful in its grandeur. We stand in the bed of the gorge 
and gaze upward on either side to a dizzy height, where the 
eagles float lazily about, just below the level of the summit, 
and build their nest upon the breast of the escarpment be¬ 
cause the apex is sky-piercing in its loftiness. Yet tumbling 
down from that great eminence, where the gray spires of the 
peaks are dwarfed by distance until they grow thin as 
needles, is a stream of water, fed by springs that lay in the 
lap of still taller mountains in the rear, rushing in tumultu¬ 
ous flow until it breaks into seven waterfalls, and then 
checks its pace as it joins the river that runs on to the sea. 

A stair-way has been built alongside of the falls, by which 
the visitor may mount to a height of two hundred feet, and 
then stand upon a platform and watch the play of leaping 
waterfall as it breaks into rainbows and mist below, and hear 
its ceaseless song of praise mingling with the echoes that 
sport between the canon walls. They who can feel no inspi¬ 
ration under the moving power of Cheyenne Mountain are 
hopelessly prosaic, who close their ears against the most 
entrancing livmns of nature. 

It is not strange that the simple people who were 
reared centuries ago in this cradle of natural wonders enter¬ 
tained strange conceptions of the curious formations and DUTCH WEDDING, MONUMENT PARK. 

mighty mountains that distinguished their surroundings from other places. Indeed, it would be matter for surprise had the primitive tribes 
of this region left no legends telling how Manitou, the Great Spirit, had uplieaved the peaks, fashioned the grotesque images, scooped out 
the canons and set his sign of ever-flowing mercy in the welling spring and roaring waterfall. 

Among the several traditions which are preserved, we have the fragments of the following, which appear to have been left by the 
Toltecs, who undoubtedly at one time had their dwelling place in the Manitou district: A certain tribe, whose name is forgotten, living 
somewhere on the great plains towards the east, were driven from their homes by a mighty flood, and hearing that lofty mountains lay several 





BALANCED ROCK, IN GARDEN OF THE GODS, COLORADO, 












AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



days’ journey towards the setting sun, they fled to these for refuge. Having thus escaped the fur}' of what they believed was an angry god, 
and found safety under the benign shadow of Pike’s Peak, they came to regard it as the dwelling place of Manitou, and instituted a form 
of worship as an evidence of their gratitude, Tlie climate being healthful and the region abounding with game, this tribe prospered and 
so increased in power that they made war on their less fortunate neighbors and reduced them to slavery. In other wa}S they so offended 
Manitou that, having once saved them from a deluge that drowned a large 
part of the world, he would now punish them with another flood visita¬ 
tion. And so the windows of heaven were opened, and the rain poured 
down in such volume that the valley was soon overflowed, and the rising 
waters began to rapidly climb the mountain sides. Perceiving that the 
deluge was an infliction sent upon them for their sins, the tribe gathered 


THE DEVIL’S TOOTH, CHEYENNE CANON. VULCAN’S ANVIL, MONUMENT PARK. 

all of their possessions and with them hastened to ascend Pike’s Peak—which no one before had ever attained—to make an offering to the 
Great Spirit of all that they had, with the hope of propitiating his anger. All the members of the tribe succeeded in reaching the summit, 
where they prayed so fervently that the heart of Manitou relented and he consented to save the people by admitting them into heaven. 
But he would receive none of their earthly possessions, and these were accordingly thrown down and in time were changed into stone, so 











MAJOR DOMO, GLEN. EYRIE 



NEEDLE ROCKS, GARDEN OF THE GODS 
















6o 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


that by the accretion of the burdens thus rejected, the mountain be¬ 
came much higher than nature had formed it. The deluge was finally 
assuaged by a dragon which Manitou unchained from a huge rock in 
heaven, where it was kept prisoner, and sent down to drink up all the 
water. This dragon never came back to heaven, for after abating the 
flood it was turned into stone and laid on Cheyenne Mountain, where 
its crocodilian form may still be recognized by an observer stationed 
at Colorado Springs. 

In after times, a new tribe came into the valley, and finding it 
fruitful and inviting, they established their homes and prospered so 
well that they soon grew mighty. For a long while no people were so 
grateful and devout, so worshipful and kindly as they; but power 
always begets arrogance, and in time these favored people became filled 
with conceit and began to esteem themselves as the equals of Manitou 
and to defy his power. This so offended the Great Spirit that he sent 
a mighty host of monsters out of the north to punish the vain bigots 
who thus contemned him. But some of the priests of the people had 
remained true in their devotion, and these now interposed with Mani¬ 
tou and made many offerings and sacrifices to appease his wrath. 
They so far prevailed that many of the people also purged their hearts 
of all iniquity, and Manitou was propitiated. As the host of monsters 
came swooping down, like an army of invincible Centaurs, suddenly 
Pike’s Peak appeared as if on fire, and the face of the Great Spirit 
was visible above it, shining with a splendor greater than the sun. 
On the next instant that invading army of satyrs and gorgous was 
changed to stone, and it is their bodies that stand, and lie, and 
posture in strange incongruity in the Garden of the Gods, Glen Eyrie, 
Bear Athol and Fiddler’s Green. 

Many other legends are told to account for the singular forma¬ 
tions, but none are so old and often repeated as the one here related. 
The region was certainly regarded by the early people who occupied it 
as possessing supernatural features, a fact attested not alone by the 
traditions so carefully preserved, but by rude carvings found on 
pieces of shale dug up in the valley, and winged images carved from 
gypsum, which appear to be very crude representations of a conception 
of preternatural creatures. These relics, however, are verv few, and 
by many are pronounced spurious, so that it would be treading on 
doubtfiil ground to attempt to introduce evidence of the faith imposed 
by the Toltecs in such legends, or how they sought to perpetuate them. 
It is sufficient, therefore, to accept the curiosities that are in this 



MEDICINE ROCK, MONUMENT PARK. 




















THE IDIOT, MONUMENT PARK. 



MOTHER GRUNDY, MONUMENT PARK 


























62 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


wondeiful garden merely as strange freaks of nature, without considering the tales handed down from a questionable source, pretending to 
show that the formations are the results of supernatural causes. 



PHANTOM FALLS, NORTH CHEYENNE CANON. CASTLE FALLS, NORTH CHEYENNE CANON. 



















CHAPTER III. 

THE GRAND CANONS OF WESTERN RIVERS. 





r (E¥ AVING pretty thoroughly photographed the region roundabout Manitou, we hitched our camera car to a train on the Colorado 
JL Midland and started westward for Salt Lake, and to embalm the scenery that lay between. The way led around the base of Pike’s 
Peak, passed Cascade Canon, and along Bear Creek, the road doubling upon itself and twisting around in the most tortuous course 
1 imaginable in order to get through the mountain defiles. Every foot of the route is grand, for there is no point that does not offer 
a view of scenic splendors beautiful, awesome and sublime. So rugged, tumultuous and wonderfully aberrant is the way, that the 
road plunges through no less than eight tunnels in traversing as many miles, and thus the traveler is whirled through the heart 
and arms of the mountains. The approach to Green Mountain Falls is up a valley which spreads out into a fascinating landscape, where 

the green of the meadowlands is set in 


a brown frame of sky-piercing peaks 
and impending cliffs. Fontaine River 
refreshes the glade that opens through 
the towering range, and a little way 
from the town the water goes leaping 
down Foster’s Falls in a sheet of liquid 
crystal. It is from this cascade that 
Green Mountain Falls takes its name. 
But besides this deep dash of broken 
water, there are many other beautiful 
falls in the vicinity which have served 
to make of the place a popular resort, 
indeed, one of the greatest in Colorado. 

Onward we speed through valleys 
aflame with flowers and noisy with the 
laughter of gamboling streams, until, 
seventy miles from Colorado Springs, 
we plunge into a gorge known by its 
length as Eleven-Mile Canon. It lies 
directly in the way to South Park, and 
is wonderful not so much for its dark¬ 
ling depths as for its marvelous petri¬ 
factions and other natural curiosities; 
its great masses of granite that have 
broken away from the peaks above and become a wall to the turbulent torrent that has cleft the mountains on its bridleless way to the sea. 
Thence our train winds around, up hill, past lakes, trout streams, and ranches, until we stop a while at Buena Vista, where the train pauses 
on the side of Gold Hill Mountain, fully one thousand feet above the town. From this natural observatory a beautiful view is had indeed: 

63 


CRYSTAL FALLS, CASCADE CANON. 












AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


64 

Below is the madly-rushing Arkansas, and the silvery Cottonwood Creek 
that joins its waters with the river at this point. Buena Vista is in a 
valley that glows like an emerald in the sun, across which rises a giant 
bank of mountains known as the Saguache range, in which we distin¬ 
guish the collegiate trinity of mounts Harvard, Yale and Princeton, 
each being above 14,000 feet, and the former the second highest in the 
Rocky Mountains. Snowy and Sangre de Cristo ranges are also visible 
from this point, while eleven miles up Cottonwood Pass is Cottonwood 
Lake, a very gem set in a wilderness of snow-covered peaks. It is the 
same distance from Buena Vista to the summit of Mt. Princeton, 
reached by an easy wagon road, and on this lofty pedestal the observer 
sweeps the horizon with enraptured vision that commands a view of 
Salida, Ponclia Pass, the wide expanse of South Park, and grand old 
Pike’s Peak one hundred miles away; Twin Lakes are twenty-five 
miles to the north, near Buffalo Peaks, where the sportsman finds a 
paradise and the health-seeker is exhilarated with balsamic winds; 
while all around, whichever way we look, the omnipotence of the 
Creator is exhibited in the mightiness of His handiwork as displayed 
in the weirdly broken landscape of jocund mountain peaks, bowlders 
of granite torn from the great heart of the earth, babbling streams, 
tumbling water-falls, and teeming valleys. 

After leaving Buena Vista the route was along the Arkansas 
River, through somewhat less rugged scenery, and on by Leadville, a 
city whose life is drawn from the bowels of the mountain. The whole 
territory is speckled and dotted with engine houses, and derricks, and 
flumes, and cavities, where the cupidity of man has laid a tribute upon 
the everlasting hills, and is collecting it by the sweat of his brow and 
the exercise of his genius. 

The road continues to rise until we reach Hagennan Tunnel, a 
mammoth passage-way bored through solid rock. Its length is 2,1(14 
feet, and to provide perfect ventillation the cut is eighteen feet wide 
and nearly as many high. The grade is a continually ascending one 
from Colorado Springs to this point, where an altitude of 11,530 feet 
is reached, and the slope towards the Pacific begins. Just as we 
emerge from Hagennan Tunnel, Loch Ivanlioe bursts into glorious 
view, a silvery sheet that wraps the cold feet of Snowy Mountain, 
while off to the left, like a sign of hope to the Christian traveler, is the 
Mount of the Holy Cross. This wonderful peak has become a verita¬ 
ble shrine, visited as it is by thousands, whose reverent feelings it never 
fails to excite. The mountain obtains its name and reputation from 



THE BEARS’ CAVE, NEAR GREEN LAKE. 


















SHOSHONE TUNNEL, CANON OF GRAND RIVER. 







































66 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



the clefts on its northern side near the summit, which are in the form of a cross and in which the snow lies at such a depth that summer 
suns never melt it. The height of this peak is 14,176 feet, but though not so lofty as some others in Colorado, it is apparently more 
exposed and holds the snow longest, the summit being nearly always covered. 

The next point of interest on the way to Salt Take is Glenwood Springs, situated at the junction of Grand and Roaring Fork 
Rivers. This place derives its importance from its numerous thermal springs of great remedial virtues, and the beautiful adornments which 
a lavish but well-directed use of money has provided. The situation, too, is one of great natural picturesqueness, as the scenery rivals that 
about Manitou. Glenwood Springs is located at the head of Grand River Canon, which extends a distance of sixteen miles through 
•colossal mountains, the pali¬ 
sades of which rise in seried 
ranks and terminate in towering 
columns and gigantic turrets 
frequently 2,000 feet above 
the bed of the river. It is 
through this tremendous chasm 
that the railroad runs, so that 
travelers have a perfect view of 
the Titanic scenery from the car 
windows, as they are whirled 
through it. Three miles from 
Glenwood Springs is No Name 
Canon, while further up the 
stream is a tremendous fissure 
which admits the river, and on 
account of its wildly savage ap¬ 
pearance is called Grizzly 
Canon. Ten miles more to¬ 
wards the river’s source is Dead 
Horse Canon, which may be 
gained only at the expense of 
most laborious effort, for the 
trail is over great bowlders and 
along crumbling walls which 
frown far above the roaring 
waters below. But away up in 

this darksome retreat of nature, where the lion and bear have their haunts, is Meteor Falls, that leaps almost out of the mouth of the canon 
and hurls its waters down a precipice nearly one hundred feet deep, and then spreads through crevices of the rocks into a score of separate 
streams. Not far distant is Alexander’s Cave, which, though not so well known, is much grander in size and more curious with stalactite 
formations than those near Manitou, which have an undeserved fame. From the summit of a mountain just east of Glenwood, and reached 
by a walk of three miles, an immense expanse of charming scenery is viewable. For seventy miles towards the east extends the snow-crowned 
chain of the Continental Divide, while towards the north, like a babe sleeping to the lullabys of a brooklet’s voice, lies the White River 


SYLVAN FALLS, CASCADE CANON. 






BOOK CLIFFS, WALLS OF GRAND RIVER CANON 



























68 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



plateau. Southward the observer’s vision swings across the valleys of 
Roaring Fork and Crystal River to the Elk range, and then sweeps around 
to the west, where it lingers on Book Cliffs, ninety miles away, which 
gleam with seintillant beauty, and inspire with a grandeur that fills the 
very soul with wondering ecstacy. 

THE GRAND CANON OF THE COLORADO. 

The tumultuous anarchism of nature, the wild riot of natural 
forces, the savage disarrangement, the chaotically indefinable throes of 
internal madness that characterize the region, suggests other wonders of 
eruption and erosion, the dissolution and disorganization which have been 
wrought along the water-course and which has gnawed its way through 
these everlasting—nay, it would appear, transitory—mountains. The 
first travelers that fought their way into these vastnesses of canon, roaring 
peak and soughing forests, carried back to civilization wondrous tales of 
the things which they had seen, and though discredited as the concep¬ 
tions of perfervid imaginations, others were stimulated to seek the proofs, 
and confirm the theories that were offered by adventurous gold-hunters. 
The Government itself, unconscious of its own possessions, joined in the 
search for the wondrous evidences and sent expeditions into the Rocky 
Mountain regions to make topographic and geologic investigations, the 
results of which were to increase surprise. Operations in the west, 
chiefly against the Mohave Indians, made it necessary also for the Gov¬ 
ernment to ascertain the most convenient routes for the transportation of 
supplies to the military posts in New Mexico and Utah, and in this search 
the Colorado River became an object of special interest, because if navi¬ 
gable it presented the easiest way to the seat of war. In order to deter¬ 
mine the question, an expedition was despatched by the Secretary of War, 
in 1858, under the command of Lieutenant J. C. Ives, chief of topo¬ 
graphical engineers. An iron steamboat fifty feet long was built in Phila¬ 
delphia, which, being in sections convenient for transportation, was shipped 
by way of Panama to the Gulf of California, and put into service at Fort 
Yuma, at the mouth of the Colorado River, for an ascent of that stream. 

The expedition thus conducted by Lieutenant Ives resulted in 
the exploration of a large territory which was before his advent therein 
a terra incognita , except that it had been partially traversed in 1540 by a 
few Spanish explorers, acting under orders of the Viceroy of New Spain, 
whose reports, however, were so crude as to be almost valueless. Ives 
succeeded in ascending the Colorado a distance of 425 miles in his steam¬ 
boat, which he concluded was within seventy-five miles of the head of 


TRIPLE FALLS, CASCADE CANON. 




NEAR HANCE’S CABIN, GRAND CANON OF THE COLORADO. 











AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


70 



navigation during the most favorable season. The practical results were not of very great value, but his reports were extremely interesting, 
chiefly for the descriptions of marvelous scenery which they contained. Or, as he writes, “ The region explored after leaving the navigable 
portion of the Colorado—though, in a scientific point of view, of the highest interest, and presenting natural features whose strange sublimity 
is perhaps unparalleled in any part of the world—is not of much value.” 

Subsequently the Government determined to effect an exploration of the headwaters of the Colorado, and to this end Major J. W. 
Powell, chief of the U. S. Survey Corps, was sent out in charge of a party of a dozen equally intrepid men, with instructions to descend 
the stream if possible. To accomplish his purpose Major Powell provided four staunclily-built row-boats in which he and his party debarked 
at Green River Station, on the 24th 
of May, 1869, to run the gauntlet of 
canon, maelstrom, rapids and water¬ 
falls in the Green and Colorado Riv 
ers. It is to Major Powell’s report 
that we are indebted for descriptions 
of the terribly sublime scenery of these 
two streams, which surpass in wonder 
every other region on the globe, and 
to the photographer of that expedition 
we make our acknowledgments for 
several of the views which are here 
reproduced. Mr. W. H. Jackson, who 
was for a long while attached to the 
survey corps as photographer, has also 
kindly furnished us with a number of 
exquisite pictures of the more accessi¬ 
ble canons of the Colorado, and to 
him, therefore, credit in large share 
must be given. Our own party, while 
thoroughly equipped for photograph¬ 
ing regions contiguous to railroads, 

Avas unprepared for making a trip 
down the most dangerous of rivers, 
and we have accordingly been com¬ 
pelled to rely for our photographs of 
the Green and Colorado Canons upon the work of those above credited. Condensing as much as possible the elaborate and entrancing 
report of Major Powell, as it fills a very large \ T olume, his explorations may be thus hastily described: 

Almost from the beginning of the trip, the scenery was delightful, variegated as it was with high-reaching cliffs dyed in great variety 
•of colors, and long lines of mountains stretching aAvay into an infinity of distance. The blue sky abo\ ? e, green shades of forest pines along 
the side, empurpled clouds catching the tints of a rising and setting sun, and lines of buff, red and brown, marking the strata of the banks, 
made a picture which no painter has the genius to reproduce. Green River enters the Minta plateau by the Flaming Gorge, and after 
Teaching the heart of the chain turns eastward, then southward, cutting its way out by the splendid canon of Lodore. Then following the 


TEN-MILE PASS, NEAR KOKOMO, COLORADO. 







IN THE CANON OF GRAND RIVER, COLORADO. 















72 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


base of the range for a few miles a sudden caprice 
seizes it. Not content with the terrible gash it has 
inflicted upon this noble chain, it darts at it viciously 
once more and cuts a horseshoe canon in its flank 
2,700 feet deep, then twists and emerges near the 
point of entrance. Thenceforward the river runs a 
tortuous course of 300 miles through gently inclined 
terraces which rise gradually as the stream descends. 
Further down, the Kaibab (Buckskin) Plateau rises 
to contest its passage, and a chasm 5,000 to (5,000 
feet is the result. The whole province is a vast cate¬ 
gory of instances of river channels cutting through 
plateaus, mesas, and terraces where the strata dip up¬ 
stream, as will be more particularly described in the 
summary of Major Powell’s hazardous explorations. 

Sixty miles from Green River the expedition 
floated into Flaming Gorge, a chasm fifteen hundred 
feet in depth, through which the water poured in 
swift measures and gave intimation of a more impetu¬ 
ous course further down. But undeterred the gallant 
party proceeded, through Red and Horseshoe Canons, 
where the walls drew closer and big bowlders in the 
stream caused the water to boil with such ominous 
signs that' portage around the obstructions was neces¬ 
sary. Thereafter the way became more difficult, for to 
dangerous rapids were added lofty falls, while along 
the vertical walls in places there was scarcely a space 
to set foot. Frequently the only possible means of 
passage was by lowering the boats by ropes attached 
to stem and stern, which taxed the strength of the 
men as well as the staunchness of the crafts. Time 
and again, in running rapids, the boats were capsized, 
but being built in water-tight compartments they 
righted themselves and were a refuge for the men, 
who clung to the sides until they drifted near the shore. 

At one place, which Major Powell named Disas¬ 
ter Falls, one of the boats was swept over a fall and 
carried down to a rapid, where, striking broadside 
against a bowlder, it was broken in two, leaving the 
three occupants adrift to battle with the surging 



KAIBAB PINNACLES, GRAND CANON OF THE COLORADO. 

































AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



74 

waters. Tlieir escape from drowning was almost a 
miracle, dne to good lnek and the extraordinary efforts 
of their brave comrades. In this spot the walls were 
more than 3,000 feet high, and drawn so near together 
that only a thin strip of sky was visible, which at 
night-time appeared to rest on the jagged edges of 
the cliffs. 

Sixteen days after their departure from the 
starting point, the adventurous party were swept into 
Lodore Canon, which extends its colossal walls along 
twenty-four miles of the river, sometimes in the form 
of hanging cliffs, tousled and gray with stunted vege¬ 
tation, and rising nearly three thousand feet above the 
stream, and again in beautiful terraces of red sand¬ 
stone that spread upward till they are lost in the 
Uintah Mountains. 

It was not until two months after leaving Green 
River Station that the explorers approached the junc¬ 
tion with Grand River. As they dropped out of the 
winding gorge whence they had descended, they 
caught a view of a wondrous fissure, down which 
poured a rushing stream which appeared to issue from 
the very bowels of the earth, so bottomless seemed the 
channel. It was Grand P.iver, wdiich, in many re¬ 
spects, is the counterpart of its sister stream, having 
the same features of waterfall, rapid, and awesome 
canon, into which the sunlight falls only at midday, 
and where night-birds are on the wing almost con¬ 
stantly. It is a fitting thing that these two remarka¬ 
ble rivers should mix their fretful waters and flow on 
together in a perpetual cpiarrel, through arid plains, 
until they end their differences in the Gulf of California. 

The Colorado River is formed by a union of the 
Grand and Green Rivers, the former taking its rise 
near Long's Peak, and the latter having its source in 
the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming, within a few 
miles of Fremont’s Peak. The two streams form a 
junction near a point known as Fort Morrison, in 
southeast Utah, at the head of the most appalling 
gorge in the world, called the Grand Canon of the 


HORSESHOE CANON, GRAND CANON OF THE COLORADO. 











ECHO CLIFFS, CANON OF GRAND RIVER 
















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


76 

Colorado. The scenery along both the Grand and 
Green Rivers is inexpressibly sublime, rising into tow¬ 
ering buttes out of the plains; soaring to the clouds in 
the form of mountains; revelling in the wildest disorder 
of landscape, and the most turbulent panorama of mad- 
dashing streams between walls of amazing height; but 
the wild passions of both rivers seem to be united with 
more than double intensity when they mingle their 
waters and thence become one turbid flood gnawing a 
way through the southwest desert. How hard it is 
for the inexperienced eye to catch a mental view of 
the tremendous chasm of the Colorado, however real¬ 
istic a descriptive writer may paint it, for height and 
depth almost lose their significance when we apply 
the terms to dizzy crags above, and the dark lonesome¬ 
ness of Plutonian recesses beneath. 

The region through which the chafing waters 




JARASSIC TERRACE OF THE COLAB, GRAND CANON OF THE COLORADO. 


CLIFF RUINS IN THE CANON. 





























AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


78 



of the Colorado run is forbidding in the extreme, a vast Sahara of waste and inutility; a desert too dreary for either vegetable or animal 
life; a land that is haunted with wind-storm, on which ride the furies of desolation. But there is in its very bleakness and consumptive 
degeneracy something that appeals to the observer; a sympathy is aroused that stimulates contemplation of the wondrous works of Deity, of 
the omnipotent hand that sows seeds of plenty in one place and scatters tares of poverty in another; that makes the valleys to laugh with 
verdure, and the plains to wail with nakedness. In this sterile domain, this borderland of phantasy and reality, nature is so distraught 
that the supernatural seems to hold carnival, and in the forms which we here behold there is constant suggestion of chaos. The earth is 
parched to sterility, and yet there are abundant evidences that in centuries long ago this same land was abundantly blessed with an amazing 
fertility. Depressions ramify¬ 
ing the region are the dry beds 
of what were once water¬ 
courses, and the whole plateau 
is garish with rocks over 
which life-giving floods once 
poured their vivifying nourish¬ 
ment. But the friable nature 
of both soil and rock has given 
way before the action of the 
river, which has constantly 
deepened its path and drained 
the moisture from the earth. 

Now it is like the Moon, a 
parched district, save for the 
single stream which, instead of 
supplying sustenance, is eating 
its vitals. The channel is worn 
more than 5,000 feet deep, with 
stupendous banks terraced and 
wrought into shapes most fan¬ 
tastic, and at places diabolic. 

Imagine a chasm that at times 
is less than a quarter of a mile 
wide and more than a mile deep, 
the bed of which is a tossing, 
roaring, madly impetuous flood; 

winding its way in a sinuous course along walls that are painted with all the pigments known to nature! What an imposing spectacle; 
what a scene of awesome grandeur; what a sublime vision of mightiness ! But the geologist sees in the crags and precipices, the strata and 
bed of that brawling stream, the handwriting of nature, the easily decipherable physical history and geology of the land. The antiquarian 
and ethnologist, following after, translate the relics of rude habitations found along the cliffs, and the skulls fortunately recovered from the 
rains, into a story of the ancient people who in the long centuries ago dared to make their homes in these almost inaccessible fastnesses, 
driven to such refuges by the ruthless hand of persecution. 


SKULLS OF THE CLIFF DWELLERS. 







HANCE’S TRAIL, GRAND CANON OF THE COLORADO. 



















8o 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



In many places, Major Powell found overarching cliffs, formed by the river in making a sharp bend eating away the shale and 
gypsum of the base. Occasional inlets were observed, cut by creeks that have been dried up for ages; and following up one of these deep 
aroytas a little way, he came to a natural stair-way of small and regular terraces that led up fully 500 feet, to an oasis of vegetation, out of 
which burst a spring that lost its waters before they had run a hundred feet down the parched cliff. Just below this point a beautiful glen 
was found, where the walls of the canon appeared to almost meet above the deep and quiet river, which, though narrowed, had an 
unobstructed channel. The 
cliffs were of a marvelous 
beauty, appalling in height, but 
as variegated as a bed of pop¬ 
pies, with their stratas of white, 
pink, saffron, gray and red. 

Passing out of Glen 
Canon, the party came directly 
into the jaws of another chasm, 
where the river had excavated 
an amphitheater of mammoth 
proportions, and then plunged 
into a gorge where both the 
walls and bed of the stream were 
of marble so pure that they 
shone with an iridescent splen¬ 
dor, and the now lazy river 
reflected its walls until looking 
down was gazing into the 
heavenly depths. Just below 
was Cataract Canon, the en¬ 
trance to which was indicated 
by a lofty cliff that, from a 
distance, shone like a crystal 
mountain, but which, on closer 
inspection, was discovered to 
be the source of many springs 
whose waters glinted in the sun 
like jewels. 

In many places the arid 




ROTARY SNOW-PLOW. 


desolation which was noticeable in the upper portion and on the plateau, and which stretched away on both sides, was broken by patches 
of vegetation, and the appearance of side gorges in which creeks were still contributing to the river. Storms were not infrequent, too, and 
these occurring where the canon walls were a mile high and close together, produced an effect that was almost supernatural in its awfulness. 
Every obscuration of the sun brought dense shadows in the chasm, which were split in twain by blinding flashes, while the deep thunder 
echoed sharply between the cliffs, producing a roaring sound that was almost deafening. Such rain-storms, however, were invariably 
































CLIFFS OF THE GRAND CANON OF THE COLORADO. 





















PORTION OF THE ANCIENT PALACE AT CASA GRANDE, ARIZONA. 



PART OF THE ANCIENT CITY WALL AT CASA GRANDE, ARIZONA. 























82 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



confined to the immediate vicinity of the canon, the territory lying two or three miles east or west continuing parched, with hardly 
a cloud above it. Even more remarkable than the stupendous walls which confine the Colorado River, are the ruined cave habitations 
which are to be seen along the lofty and apparently inaccessible ledges, in which a vanished race long years ago evidently sought 
refuge from their enemies. These caves are no doubt natural excavations, but in many instances the mouths are partially walled 
and otherwise fortified. They were reached by very narrow, precipitous and devious paths, and being extremely difficult to attain 
by the occupants themselves, presented an impregnable front to invaders. But the security which such cavernous retreats afforded 
was purchased at great cost, for we wonder how the inhabitants managed to exist, situated as they were in a desolate country, where 
there was great scarcity of both vegetable and animal life. Perhaps the most strikingly beautiful sections of the Grand Canon are 
the Vermilion Cliffs, and the Temples 
and Towers of the Virgin, the one 
fading into the other. Vermilion Cliffs 
are a great wall of remarkable height 
and length of persistent proportions, 
and so ornate with natural sculpturing, 
and rich with parti-coloring, as to 
justify the most extravagant language 
in describing them. Each of the 
several terraces has its own style of 
architecture, and yet they contrast with 
one another in the most harmoniously 
artistic manner. The Elephantine 
ruins on the Nile, the temples of 
Greece, the pagodas of China, and the 
cathedrals of Southern Europe, present 
no more variety of pleasing structures 
than those encountered in descending 
the stair-way from the high plateaus to 
the deep Canon of the Colorado. As 
we pass from terrace to terrace, the 
scene is constantly changing; not only 
in the bolder and grander masses 
which dominate the landscape, but in 
every detail and accessory as well: in 
the tone of the color-masses, in the vegetation, and in the spirit and subjective influences of the scenery. The profile of the Vermilion 
Cliffs is very complex, though conforming to a definite type and composed of simple elements. While varying much in different localities, 
it never loses its typical character. The cliffs consist of an ascending series of vertical ledges, rising story above story, with intervening 
slopes covered with heaps of rocks, through which project their fretted edges. The composite effect given by the multiple cliffs and 
sloping water-tables rising tier above tier, is highly architectural, and shows in striking contrast with the rough and craggy aspect of the 
cliffs of other regions. This effect is much increased by the aberrant manner in which the wall advances in promontories or recedes in 
alcoves, and by the wings and gables that jut out from every lateral face. In many places side canons have cut the terrace platforms 


BRIDAL VEIL, SHOSHONE FALLS. 













AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


83 

deeply, and open in magnificent gate-ways upon the broad desert plain in front. We look into them from afar, wonderingly and question- 
ingly, with our fancy pleased to follow their windings until their sudden turns carry them into distant, unseen depths. In other places 
the cliffs verge into towering buttes, rearing their unassailable summits into the clouds, rich with the aspiring forms of a pure Gothic 
type, and flinging back in red and purple the intense sunlight that is poured upon them. Could the imagination blanch those colors, it 
might compare them with vast icebergs, sent from the face of a glacier and floating majestically out to sea. 

Grand, glorious, sublime, are the pictorial cliffs of vermilion hue; yet a more magnificent spectacle is presented by an unfolding of 
the panorama that stretches southward, revealing as it does the heavenly crowned and resplendently painted temples and towers of the 
Virgin. Here the slopes, the serpentine ledges, and the bosses of projecting rock, interlarded with scanty soil, display all the colors of the 
rainbow, and in the distance may be likened to the painter’s pallette. The bolder tints are of maroon, purple, chocolate, magenta and 
lavender, with broad bands of white laid in horizontal belts. The canon proper is 7,000 feet deep here, but less than two miles beyond it 
stands the central and commanding object of this sublime painting, the glorious western temple that looms up 4,000 feet above the rapid river. 
This, however, is only the foreground of a matchless panorama, for right opposite are a mighty throng of structures wrought in the same 
exalted style, separated by two principal forks of the Virgin, known as the Parunuweap and the Mukuntuweap, or Little Zion Valley. At 
one point the two side canons swing around and form a junction, where the walls break into giant pediments covered with the most remark¬ 
able and picturesque carvings. The sumptuous, bewildering and mazy effects are boldly discernible; but detail is lost when attempt is 
made to analyze it. The flank of the wall receding up the Mukuntuweap is similarly sculptured and decorated for two miles, and then 
changes into new kaleidoscopic forms still more wonderful and impressive. A row of towers half a mile high is sculptured out of the 
palisade, and stands in relief before its face. There is an eloquence in their forms which stirs the imagination with a singular power, and 
kindles in even the dullest mind a glowing response. Just behind them, and rising a thousand feet higher, is the eastern temple, crowned 
with a cylindric dome of white sandstone. Directly in front is a complex group of white towers, springing from a central pile and 
mounting to the clouds. The highest peak in this cumulus mass is almost pure white, with brilliant streaks of carmine descending its 
vertical walls, while the truncated summit is a deep red. 

Nothing can exceed the wondrous beauty of Little Zion Valley, which separates the two temples and their respective groups of 
towers. I 11 its proportions it is probably equal to Yosemite, but it very far exceeds that natural wonder in the nobility and beauty of 
sculpturing. We are not surprised that a Mormon zealot gave to this canon the name of Little Zion, since the scenery is so imposing as to 
immediately and powerfully suggest those “houses not built with hands.” 

Far to the westward are to be seen the lost palisade, lifting its imposing front behind an army of towers and domes to an altitude of 
more than 3,000 feet. Beyond it the view changes quickly, for it passes at once into the Great Basin, which to this region is another world. 

The passage of the Grand Canon of the Colorado, that most fearful, colossal and extraordinary chasm in all the world’s surface, was 
completed on August 29th, the perils which beset the explorers being constant and the hardest work unremitting. Nor was it accomplished 
without great sacrifice. The dangers so increased that three of the men deserted, whose fate, however, was most tragic, for they were 
shortlv afterwards murdered by Indians. Starvation threatened the party, for repeated capsizing of the boats resulted in the loss of nearly 
all their provisions, while exposure brought on illness, so that the mem were in a desperate situation when they finally emerged from the 
jaws of the canon and found succor among some hospitable Indians. 



FRESHET FALLS OF THE PARUNUWEAP. 


























CHAPTER IV. 

MARVELS OF THE GREAT DESERT. 



'RAXD RIVER VALLEY is followed by the railroad from a point about forty miles north of Leadville for a distance of nearly two 
hundred miles, and until State Line is reached, when the road cuts across the plains of Utah, which are relieved by little diversity 
of landscape until Mount Nebo, of the Wasatch range, breaks into view. The scenery along Grand River is, however, extremely 
beautiful, being very rugged and at times mountainous. The road leads through several canons that have very high vertical walls, 
around ledges, over bridges, and takes an occasional plunge into the midnight of tunnels bored through solid granite. The 
landscape which meets the traveler’s vision when he reaches Utah is very different from that which characterizes Colorado, the 
difference being apparent almost when the border is reached. After passing the plateau the route is by Provo Lake, where the region 

becomes broken, and near-by are 
lofty ledges, over one of which 
rushes a pellucid stream that is 
formed by melting snows from 
the adjacent mountains. Provo 
Falls is a beautiful sheet of 
water, dashing down a height of 
forty feet and then spreading 
away until lost in Provo Lake. 

The Wasatch range is now 
plainly visible, coasting the east¬ 
ern shore of Great Salt Lake, 
and winding around to the 
southwest until they enclose a 
valley that by Mormon industry 
has been converted into a veri¬ 
table paradise, ramified as it is 
by canals that render it prolific 
with nearly everything that fer¬ 
tile soil can produce. 

The Wasatch range forms 
one of the most important topo¬ 
graphical features of the Cor- 
dilleran system; in fact, it marks 
the central line of elevation o-f 
this great mountain region, and 


TWIN LAKES, COTTONWOOD CANON, UTAH. 


is the dividing ridge between the arid interior basins of Nevada and the high and relatively well-watered plateau country that drains into the 
Gulf of California. All the mountain formations here are on a scale of universal magnitude, while in their structure are to be seen the 









86 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



effects of dynamic forces, which have folded and twisted thousands of feet of solid rock as if they were as pliable as so many sheets of paper. 
To the westward the range presents a bold, abrupt escarpment, rising suddenly out of the plains of the Utah basin, and attains its greatest 
elevation within a couple of miles of its western base. To the eastward it slopes off very gradually, forming a succession of broad ridges 
and mountain valleys whose waters drain into the Great Salt Lake through canons and gorges cut through its main western ridge. 
The altitude is from 10,000 to 12,000 feet above sea level, so that snow is continuous on the summits, while a condensation 
of the eastward moving atmospheric currents, produced by the chill on the mountain peaks, furnishes a constant supply of water to 
the mountain streams, and from which the valleys derive their exceptional fertility. A view of the range, as observed from one of the 
islands in Salt Take, presents a mountain wall more than 
100 miles in length, of delicately varied outline, the 
upper portion wrapped in a mantle of snow, but dotted 
with patches of pine revealing all the intricacies of its 
rocky structure, and cut through at short intervals by 
deep canon gashes of rare grandeur and beauty. A 
striking feature is presented in the old lake terraces 
which mark the former beach-line of ancient Lake Bonne¬ 
ville, of which the uppermost is 940 feet above the level 
of the present lake, and can be traced with few interrup¬ 
tions from one end of the range to the other. Lake 
Bonneville was formerly the great inland sea of which 
Great Salt Lake is now a part. It covered nearly one- 
sixth of what is now Utah territory, and there is evidence 
that it was connected with the sea by an arm extending 
to the Gulf of California. The upheaval of mountains 
through volcanic action reduced its bed and gradually 
confined its waters to the lower basin of what afterwards 
came to be known, because of its saline waters, as the 
Great Salt Lake. 

As early as 1689 mention was made of this remark¬ 
able lake, which was somewhat indefinitely located and 
described by Baron La Houtan, “lord-lieutenant of the 
French colony at Placentia, in New Foundland,” in a 
work which was first published in the English language 
in 1735. But though known at such an early day, it was 
not until 1849 that a survey of the lake was made by 
Howard Stansbury, captain of topographical engineers, 


BLACK ROCK, GREAT SALT LAKE. 


U. S. A., though General John C. Fremont circumnavigated it in 1844, giving 
names to its several islands and prominent points. The settlement of Mormons in the Salt Lake Valley, near the shores of the lake, served 
to bring the Dead Sea of America into prominence, and to this fact was largely due the action of the Government in ordering a survey of 
the great basin to be made. The lake was found to be nearly eighty miles long by fifty broad, and to contain such a quantity of salt, 
sulphates of silver, chlorides of magnesium, potash and alum, that its solid contents were about four times greater than that of ocean water, 
while its specific gravity almost equalled that of the Dead Sea. Having no outlet the lake has a fluctuating level, dependent upon the 








UTALINE, OR LINE OF DIVISION BETWEEN UTAH AND COLORADO. 






































AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


amount of inflowing water and solar evaporation, which varies each season, but though theoretically the lake ought to be diminishing, the 
fact remains that it is rather increasing, showing marked encroachment on the eastern shores, while on the west there is an apparent 
recession of its waters, a peculiarity not easily explained. 

There are a number of islands in Salt Lake, the two largest being Antelope and Stansbury, which rise abruptly to a height of 
3,000 feet, terminating in rocky ridges that range north and south, and from which a marvelously beautiful view is had of the 
surrounding scenery, varied by towering peaks, boundless plains, fields of grain, irrigating ditches, prosperous farm houses, and away to 
the southeast a delightful vision of Salt Lake City. Other islands in the lake are those known as Gunnison, Fremont, Carrington, 
Dolphin, Black Rock, Mud, 

Egg, Hat, and several others 
that are so insignificant as to 
appear to be unworthy of any 
name. The total area covered 
by the lake is about 2,500 
square miles, or nearly 400 
square miles more than the State 
of Delaware, and its elevation 
above the sea is 4,000 feet. 

But if Great Salt Lake is 
one of the prime curiosities of 
America, its municipal name¬ 
sake may well claim the dis¬ 
tinction of being one of the 
artificial wonders of our land. 

Salt Lake City is the sublime 
result of Mormon persecution, 
having been founded by that 
alien sect in 1847. The history 
of their expulsion from Nauvoo, 

Illinois, and Gallatin, Missouri, 
is familiar to every school-boy, 
yet there will ever linger about 
the story of their flight, across 
the winter-swept plains of Iowa 

and the icy prairies of Nebraska, to the desert lands of Utah, a glamour of romance, second in interest to that of the exile of the Acadians, as 
told by Longfellow in Evangeline. 

In this valley of desolation, as it then appeared, Brigham Young, the Moses of his people, founded a city and re-established a 
hierarchy which has persisted and prospered to a degree that invites the world’s amazement. By industry as remarkable as it was well 
directed, the desert was converted into an oasis, and the bare earth, with its poverty of sand and sage-brush, was made to cover its naked¬ 
ness with the green vestures of almost unexampled fecundity. 

The town thus established under harsh conditions grew into the stature of a city, whose very isolation seemed to contribute to its 




THE TEMPLE, SALT LAKE CITY. 










PROVO FALLS, NEAR PROVO CITY, UTAH 

















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


90 



prosperity. For the first score of years the place was in nearly all respects one of refuge, where the church was dominant and where 
priestcraft and polygamy were the two institutions upon which the life of the sect depended. We are not surprised, therefore, to find that 
the first great building erected in Salt Lake City was a tabernacle, with a seating capacity for 12,000 persons, the largest hall without pillar 
supports in the w r orld, and that next to this a tithing house was built, for it was a principle with the Mormons that the church should be 
supported by levies upon the communicants of one-tenth of their annual profits, whether such earnings came from the soil, merchandise or 
the trades. Then followed the building of an endowment house, where the rites of the church were celebrated; and besides a residence for 
the president or chief priest, there was erected a structure known as the Bee-Hive, for the accommodation of Brigham Young’s harem, also 
an assembly hall, and lastly a Grand Temple, costing nearly $3,000,000, which, after twenty years, is just now approaching completion. 
The City of Salt Lake, with 


a population of 44,000, is about 
seven miles from the southeast¬ 
ern shore of the lake, is beauti¬ 
fully laid out with streets 132 
feet wide, the gutters of which 
are kept clean by the constant 
running of pure water through 
them, brought down from the 
Wasatch range and conducted 
thence through a myriad of 
ditches to irrigate the soil. 

Salt Lake City is one of the 
chief military posts of the 
United States, and Fort Doug¬ 
las, situated about five miles 
from the city, on a gently slop¬ 
ing hillside at the termination 
of Red Butte Canon, is a de¬ 
lightful place and commands an 
unobstructed view of the entire 
valley. A mile toward the 
south is Emigrant Canon, from 
which point it is said the Mor¬ 
mon pioneers first caught sight 

of the verdureless plain which they were destined to convert into a very Eden of productiveness. One of the greatest attractions in the 
neighborhood of the city (about eighteen miles distant) is a noted bathing resort called Garfield Beach which, during the summer season, 
is visited by thousands of persons who there indulge the incomparable luxury of a bath in the marvelous Dead Sea of America. The 
water is so buoyant that those who have not mastered the art of swimming find equal sport with those who are most expert, for they can 
lie on the delicious waves and be rocked like a child in its cradle, without putting forth any effort whatever. Just back of Garfield’s Beach 
is a great cavern in the Oquirrah Mountain side known as the Giant’s Cave, the entrance to which is some 300 feet above the lake level, 
though it is plainly evident that in former years the opening was submerged. When the cave was discovered, in 1860, it was found to 


BEE-HIVE HOUSE, SALT LAKE CITY. 
























DOUBLE CIRCLE, NEAR EUREKA, UTAH 















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


92 



contain several complete human skeletons, recklessly disposed, as though they were the victims of slaughter or starvation. It was a custom 
among the Utes to place their dead in caves and in hollows among the rocks, but the irregularity of the positions of the skeletons found in 
Giant’s Cave lends plausibility to the belief that the remains are those of a band of Indians who, having taken refuge there, were extermi¬ 
nated by their more powerful enemies. 

About forty miles north of Salt Lake City, and on the main line of the Union Pacific Railroad, are two remarkable chasms known 
as Echo and Weber Canons, which are not only sublimely grand by reason of their lofty and often vertical walls, but are also marvelously 
curious on account of the weird formations which distinguish them. The first one reached on our trip from Salt Lake was Weber Canon, 
which invites attention and 
admiration not so much by 
beetling cliffs as by its great 
variety of scenery and the 
kaleidoscopic changes which 
appear at every hundred yards 
of advance into it. The canon 
is not always narrow, nor are 
the walls invariably high, for 
there is a succession of all 
kinds of mountain scenery, 
including stretches of beautiful 
meadow land and fertile fields 
wrapped about the feet of giant 
peaks; colossal gate-ways lead¬ 
ing into dark defiles; mighty 
summits breaking way through 
cloudland; slopes covered with 
pine and aspen; and ridges 
that appear to have been fash¬ 
ioned by gods of war into tow¬ 
ers, bastions and crenelated 
battlements. Weber River has 
forged its way through this 
chasm, and along its sinuous 
and rocky bed the railroad 
runs, sometimes cutting under 


BRIGHAM YOUNG’S GRAVE, SALT LAKE CITY. 


an overhanging ledge, again almost scraping the sides of the walls that swing so near together, then leaping out of night-infested chasms 
into broadening valleys that are green and russet with prolific fruitage. While admiring the peaceful landscape and contemplating the 
happy environments that render the valley a place of delightful habitation, our dreamy reflections are suddenly disturbed by a sight of what 
seems to have been most appropriately named The Devil’s Slide, a formation whose singularity entitles it to consideration as one of nattire’s 
marvels. The hill upon the side of which this unique wonder occurs is about 800 feet high, composed of a dark red sandstone, whose face 
has been scarred by some internal disturbance that has caused to be cast up from the base two gray parallel walls of white sandstone, which 













CASTI.E GATE, IN PRICE’S CAfiON, UTAH. 



























AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



94 

rise to a varying height of twenty to forty feet above the general sur¬ 
face of the hill, and are not more than twenty feet apart. This 
remarkable slide begins at the summit and continues to the base, 
where it is reflected in the clear waters of Weber River, opposite Lost 
Creek, producing a vision that is weirdly grotesque and sublimely 
curious. 

“ Echo Canon,” says an English traveler, “ is a superb defile. 
It moves along like some majestic poem in a series of incomparable 
stanzas. There is nothing like it in the Himalayas that I know of, 
nor in the Suliman range. In the Bolan Pass, on the Afghan frontier, 
there are intervals of equal sublimity; and even as a whole it may 
compare with it. But taken for all in all—its length (some thirty 
miles), its astonishing diversity of contour, its beauty as well as its 
grandeur—I confess that Echo Canon is one of the masterpieces of 
Nature.” 

One of the first objects which claims particular attention near 
the entrance to the canon from the west is Pulpit Rock, which is near 
the village of Echo. This projection receives its name from its sug¬ 
gestive appearance as well as from the popular tradition that Brigham 
Young occupied it to preach his first sermon in Utah. The rocks and 
precipices which line the way are variegated with subdued tints, 
heightened by the pronounced coloring of the mountain vegetation that 
covers the slopes and spreads out in occasional level tracts at the base. 
Remarkable and often fantastic formations diversify the canon, which 
for their fancied resemblance to artificial things have received such 
appellations as Steamboat Rock, Gibraltar, Monument Rock, etc. Our 
further advance brings into view towering cliffs that seem to be sus¬ 
pended from the sky, and again the walls reach over the way like 
mighty claws, and exhibit their serrated peaks in a series of ruins that 
in the distance conjure the imagination and present a vision of mono¬ 
liths, temples, galleries and castles, such as bestrew the old world. 
Hanging Rock and Castle Rock are two specially bold promontories 
that give suggestion of Nilotic and Rhenish ruins, a verisimilitude 
that is intensified by the knowledge that when Johnston invaded Utah 
in 1857 the Mormons fortified many of the cliffs of both Weber and 
Echo Canons, the fading wrecks of these structures being still visible. 

Church Buttes and The Witches present a strange conglomera¬ 
tion in uniting religion with superstition, for they appeal to the two 
strongest attributes of human nature. From the west the “Witches” 
first come into view, a group of fantastically-wrought images that 


JOSEPHINE FALLS, BEAR CREEK, UTAH. 









MOUNT NEBO, WASATCH RANGE 





















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


96 



appear like chaotic creations, the rock-carved dreams of distempered boyhood, the feverish personations of old Granny Bunch’s tales. 
There they stand, like an assemblage of weazened and wrinkled wizards plotting some scheme of diabolism, though everlastingly anchored 
to the eternal hillsides, where, like Giant Grim, they can do nothing more than make faces at passers-by. 

Church Buttes are more harmonious in their outlines, as well as massive in their proportions, simulating as they do cathedrals and 
meeting houses, some with towers and spires, and others of less ostentatious architecture, but all bearing some intimation of a worshipful 
purpose. But these curious efforts of nature are not confined to the canons named, nor a limited district, for directly north of Green River, 
and reached by a Government trail leading to Yellowstone Park, are what is known as the Bridges and Washakie Basins of Bad Bands, a 
region that is remarkable for 
its capricious formations, the 
results of upheavals, glacial 
scouring, and erosions by wind 
and water. This district of 
marvelous forms is a part of 
Fremont county, covering an 
area of twenty by twenty-five 
miles. The country is a mixt¬ 
ure of limestones, shales and 
calcareous sandstones, with 
occasional green clays, marls, 
and whitish sand, the latter 
often drifting into long dunes. 

Towards the south end of this 
dry valley there is a chain of 
bluff escarpments, extending 
about fourteen miles, and it is 
in these escarpments that the 
most remarkable examples of 
Bad Baud erosions are to be 
found. The ridges rise 300 
feet above the valley and pre¬ 
sent a series of abrupt, nearly 
vertical faces, worn into innu¬ 
merable architectural forms, 

with detached pillars standing like monoliths some distance from the walls. Along the dry ravines the same curiously picturesque forms 
occur, so that a view of the whole front of the escarpment, with its salient angles, bears a striking resemblance to the ruins of a fortified 
city. Enormous masses project from the main wall, the stratifications of cream, gray and green sands are traced across their nearly vertical 
fronts like courses of immense masonry, and every face is scoured by innumerable narrow, sharp cuts, which are worn into the soft material 
from top to bottom of the cliff, offering narrow galleries which give access for a considerable distance into this labyrinth of natural 
fortresses. At a little distance, these sharp incisions seem like the spaces between series of pillars, and the whole aspect of the region is 
that of a line of Egyptian structures, Among the most interesting bodies are those of the detached outliers, points of spurs, or isolated 


PULPIT ROCK, WEBER CANON. 












OLDEST HOUSE IN SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 
























AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


98 



hills, which are mere relics of the beds that formerly covered the whole valley. These monoliths, often reaching 100 feet in height, rise 
out of the smooth surface of a level plain of clay, and are sculptured into the most surprising forms, surmounted by domes and ornamented 
by many buttresses and jutting pinnacles. 

Clarence King, U. S. Geologist, in a monograph on the Bad Lands, says: “It is not altogether easy to account for the peculiar 
character of this erosion, resulting as it does in such singular vertical faces and spire-like forms. A glance at the front of these Bad Lands 
shows at once that very much of the resultant forms must be the effect of rain and wind-storms. The small streams which cut down across 
the escarpment from the interior of the plateau, do the work of severing the front into detached blocks; but the final forms of these blocks 
themselves are probably in 
great measure given by the 
effect of rain and wind erosion. 

The material is so exceedingly 
fine, that under the influence of 
trickling waters it cuts down 
most easily in vertical lines. 

A semi-detached block, sepa¬ 
rated by two lateral ravines, 
becomes quickly carved into 
spires and domes, which soon 
crumble down to the level of 
the plain. It seems probable 
that some of the most interest¬ 
ing forms are brought out by a 
slightly harder stratum near the 
top of the cliffs (like the 
strange, and often uncouth, ex¬ 
amples in Monument Park, 

Colorado), which acts in a 
measure as a protector of the 
softer materials, and prevents 
them from taking the mound- 
forms that occur when the beds 
are of equal hardness.” 

As we follow down Green 

„ . .. a , WITCH ROCKS, WEBER CANON. 

River, the same effects are 

observable in the vertical bluffs which extend along the shores, images to which fancy has given such names as the Devil’s Tea-pot, the 
Giant’s Club, Vermilion Cliffs, and many others, for the geologic structure is the same through nearly the whole of southeast Wyoming. 
But the so-called Bad Lands are not wholly confined to Wyoming, for they are met with in both North and South Dakota, west of the 
Missouri River; though for beauty and magnitude, those of Wyoming are incomparable. 

From Green River Station we doubled our track and returned to Ogden, where we took some very beautiful views of Ogden Canon, 
the Narrows, Adam’s Falls, and the mountains that soar very far skyward at the city’s rear. But our stay here was limited to two days, 
















MORMON TITHING HOUSE, SALT LAKE CITY 




















100 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


when we took the Oregon branch 
of the Union Pacific for a visit to 
Shoshone Falls, on Snake River, 
which for size as well as mag¬ 
nificence takes a position second 
only to our world-wonderful 
Niagara. 

Directly after leaving Ogden 
the road enters the valley of Bear 
River, which it follows as far 
north as Weston Falls, a distance 
of about seventy-five miles. The 
scenery along this part of the 
route is almost as rugged as that 
of Weber Canon, being a suc¬ 
cession of canons and lovely 
stretches of level lands brought 
into the highest state of cultiva¬ 
tion by Mormon industry. At 
Pocatello the road branches, one 
of its iron arms extending north¬ 
ward to Helena, while the main 
line turns westwardly to Oregon. 
The district which it penetrates 
after leaving Pocatello is desert¬ 
like and devoid of interest almost 
to the western limits of Idaho, if 
we except the point where the 
road crosses Snake River. Here 
the American Falls go brawling 
and boiling over immense basaltic 
rocks that are struggling with 
the impetuous stream, and whose 
tops are flecked with tufts of 
foam thrown up by mad-dashing 
waves. But the waters have not 
yet worn a chasm through the 
desert, which spreads away on 
either side a level plain, until 
forty-four miles distant the dreary 



HANGING ROCK, AMERICAN FORK CANON. 







THE DEVIL’S SLIDE, WEBER CANON. 















102 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


monotony is broken by three buttes that rise into view out of the uninviting landscape. We now enter a region that is somber beyond all 
power to describe; a wretched desolation that is relieved by no vegetation save of sage-brush, which straggles through little rifts in the 
earth and barely lifts its head above the surface. These are the lava beds that extend from Beaver Canon all along the north side of Snake 
River, until they lose themselves in the stream where it turns due north and draws a boundary line between Idaho and Oregon. The land 
appears to have been cursed with such a fire as destroyed Gomorrah, for the eye wanders over nothing but the fiery sputa of volcanoes, that, 
having wrought the fullest destruction, were in turn destroyed. Everywhere we look there greets our vision waves of lava that lashed the 
earth until, tired of their devastating work, they became congealed, or were arrested by the hand of omnipotence. But between the knolls of 
scoria are occasional depressions, which 
are cross-seamed and cracked until in 
many places the fissures are hundreds of 
feet deep, apparently extending in depth 
to the very vitals of the earth. Some 
of the crevices are only a few inches in 
width, while there are others several feet 
broad, into which creeks have lost them¬ 
selves, and lead into bottomless pits. 

It is a little more than one hundred 
miles from Pocatello to Shoshone Sta¬ 
tion, at which point we left the train, 
and by private conveyance struck across 
the lava fields, a distance of twenty-five 
miles due south, over the dustiest wagon- 
road that mortal ever traveled. The 
way is like a switch-back, up and down 
over sharp waves of lava, with desola¬ 
tion and discomfort obtrusive compan¬ 
ions, and nothing rising above the dull 
undulations except a purplish tint in the 
horizon, marking with faint intimation 
a range of mountains one hundred miles 
away in Utah. For more than four hours 
we traversed this wearying stretch of 
parched and begrimed desert, without a 
sign of the river, until at length turning 



TEA-POT ROCK, GREEN RIVER. 


the base of a higher ridge we came suddenly upon the brink of a tremendous chasm, and there, 1,200 feet below our feet, was the river 
which we had journeyed so far to view. Long before reaching this objective point, w r e had heard a deep, rumbling noise that seemed to 
emanate from the earth’s internals, but now, with astounded sense of the awful, we beheld the cause. There before us was the vexed 
waters of a large river pouring over two precipices, the first 82 feet and the second 210 feet high, producing by the final plunge a colossal 
cauldron, from which the mists rose up in boiling clouds that ever and anon hid the falls from sight. 

A glance at this tremendous waterfall more than compensated for all the annoyances and discomforts that we had endured. It was a 
















PULPIT ROCK, ECHO CANON, WHERE BRIGHAM YOUNG FIRST PREACHED IN UTAH. 




















io 4 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 




scene of positively bewildering majesty; a vision of the incomparably 
grand; an object lesson teaching the mightiness and mysterious ways of 
God. In the deep diapason of its voice we recognized nature’s halle¬ 
lujah, and the thunderous boom of its plungings was like a chorus of 
invocation welling from a million throats. Its lovely grandeur, burst¬ 
ing out of the heart of desolation, is the personification of powerful, 
awe-inspiring sublimity, an exaltation of deity, an inspiration to the 
soul, a very glorification and apotheosis of nature. 

Pausing on the bank to contemplate and measure the colossal 
wonder of the falls, we saw the emerald stream gliding along as placidly 
as though its mission was one of peace; nor was there any appearance 
of danger to the ferryman, who operated his boat by an over-head wire 
cable stretched from bank to bank, only 200 yards above. The quiet 
flow, however, was better understood when we learned that the river 
here is 200 feet deep; a very ocean filling a mighty chasm; an inun¬ 
dated canon whose volume of water equals that of a dozen Niagaras, 
for this tremendous gorge extends a distance of eighteen miles, and its 
bottom lies under the river 1,400 feet below the brink. 

Shoshone Falls proper are 950 feet wide at the point of precipi¬ 
tation, but only a few yards to the rear of it are Bridal Veil Falls, whose 
width is 125 feet, and 
w h i c h constitute the 
first plunge or precipice, 
which in turn is broken 
into a series of minor 
cascades, known as Bri¬ 
dal Train and Natural 
Mill Race Falls, the di¬ 
visions being produced 
by the interposition of 
Eagle Rock and Bell’s 
Island. One mile and 
a half below the cataract 
are Cascade Falls, while 
three miles above are 
Twin Falls, which leap 
down a height of 180 
feet, thus showing that 
there is a space of nearly 

five miles in which the MAIDEN OF THE BAD LANDS. 


WITCH ROCK, BAD LANDS OF WYOMING. 












MONUMENT ROCK, ECHO CANON 




jr 






GIANT’S CLUB, GREEN RIVER. 





















io6 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 




tremendous chasm lias been torn by convulsions which most probably occurred after the river was turned into its bed. An exquisite 
word-painting by the journalistic pen of Hon. C. C. Goodwin is here reproduced: 

“The lava beds of Idaho are a marked feature of that Territory. Starting near the eastern boundary, they extend southwesterly 
for a long distance, and are from 300 feet to 900 feet in depth. This mass was once a river of molten fire, the making of which must 
have succeeded a convulsion of nature more terrible than any ever witnessed by mortals, and long years must have passed before the awful 
fiery mass was cooled. To the east of the source of the lava flow, the Snake River bursts out of the hills, becoming almost at once a 
sovereign river, and flowing at first southwesterly and then bending westerly, cuts through the lava fields nearly in the center of the 
Territory, reckoned from east to west, and about forty miles north of its southern border, and thence flowing with great curves, merges 
finally with the Columbia. The two rivers combined make one of the chief waterways of the continent, and here and there take on pictures 

of great beauty. Never anywhere else was 
there such a scene; never anywhere else 
was so beautiful a picture hung in so rude 
a frame; never anywhere else, on a back¬ 
ground so forbidding and weird, were so 
many glories clustered. Around and be¬ 
yond, there is nothing but the desert— 
sere, silent, lifeless—as though Desolation 
had builded there everlasting thrones to 
Sorrow and Despair. 

“Away back in remote ages, over 
the withered breast of the desert, a river of 
fire, 100 miles wide and 400 miles long, 
was turned. As the fiery mass cooled, its 
red waves became transfixed, and turned 
black, giving to the double-desert an inde¬ 
scribably blasted and forbidding face. 

“ But while this river of fire was in 
flow, a river of water was fighting its way 
across it, or has since made war and forged 
out for itself a channel through the mass. 

This channel looks like the grave of a vol- 
BANKS OF SNAKE RIVER. cano that had been robbed of its dead. But BAD LANDS OF WYOMING. 

right between its crumbling and repellent walls, transfiguration appears. And such a picture! A river as lordly as the Hudson or Ohio, 
springing from the distant snow-crested Tetons, with waters transparent as glass, but green as emerald, with majestic flow and ever- 
increasing volume, sweeps on until it reaches this point where the display begins. 

“Suddenly, in different places in the river-bed, jagged rocky reefs are upheaved, dividing the current into four rivers, and these, in 
a mighty plunge of eighty feet downward, dash on their way. Of course the waters are churned into foam, and roll over the precipice 
white as are the garments of the morning when no cloud obscures the sun. The loveliest of these falls is called “The Bridal Veil,” 
because it is made of the lace which is woven with a warp of falling waters and a woof of sunlight. Above this and near the right bank, 
is along trail of foam, and this is called “ The Bridal Trail.” The other channels are not so fair as the one called “ The Bridal Veil,” 















WEBER VALLEY, AND TUNNEL THROUGH GRANITE WALLS, UTAH. 














io8 

but they are more fierce and wild, and carry 
in their ferocious sweep more power. 

“One of the reefs which divides the 
river in mid-channel runs up to a peak, and 
on this a family of eagles have, through the 
years, may be through centuries, made their 
home and reared their young, on the very 
verge of the abyss and amid the full echoes 
of the resounding roar of the falls. Surely 
the eagle is a fitting symbol of perfect fear¬ 
lessness, and of that exultation which comes 
with battle clamors. 

“ But these first falls are but a begin¬ 
ning. The greater splendor succeeds. With 
swifter flow, the startled waters dash on, 
and within a few feet take their second 
plunge into a solid crescent, over a sheer 



PETRIFIED TREES OF THE BAD LANDS. 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 




jT 



BEAUTIES OF THE BAD LANDS. 

extremities of its arc are anchored, and 
there in its many-colored robes of light it 
lies outstretched above the abyss like 
wreaths of flowers above a sepulchre. Up 
through the glory and terror an everlasting 
roar ascends, deep-toned as is the voice of 
fate, a diapason like that the rolling ocean 
chants when his eager surges come rushing 
in to greet and fiercely woo an irresponsive 
promontory. 

‘ ‘ But to feel all the awe and to mark 
all the splendor and power that comes of 
the mighty display, one must climb down 
the deep descent to the river’s brink below, 
and pressing up as nearly as possible to the 
falls, contemplate the tremendous picture. 
There, something of the energy that creates 
that endless panorama is comprehended; 


precipice, 210 feet to the abyss below. On 
the brink there is a rolling crest of white, 
dotted here and there, in sharp contrast, 
with shining eddies of green, as might a 
necklace of emeralds shimmer on a throat of 
snow, and then the leap and fall. 

“Here more than foam is made. 
Here the waters are shivered into fleecy 
spray, whiter and finer than any miracle 
that ever fell from an India loom; while from 
the depths below, an everlasting vapor rises— 
the incense of the waters to the water’s God. 
Finally, through the long, unclouded days, 
the sun sends down his beams, and to give 
the startling scene its growing splendor, 
wreathes the terror and the glory in a rain¬ 
bow halo. On either sullen bank the 



CEDAR CANON, BAD LANDS OF DAKOTA. 






















THE BLUFFS OF GREEN RIVER, UTAH 




























no 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



all the deep throbbings of the mighty river’s pulses are felt, all the magnificence is seen. In the reverberations that come of the war of 
waters, one hears something like God’s voice; something like the splendor of God is before his eyes; something akin to God’s power is 
manifesting itself before him, and his soul shrinks within itself, conscious, as never before, of its own littleness and helplessness in the 
presence of the workings of Nature’s immeasurable forces. 

“Not quite so massive is the picture as is Niagara, but it has more lights and shades and loveliness, as though a hand more divinely 
skilled had mixed the tints, and with more delicate art had transfixed them upon that picture suspended there in its rugged and somber 
frame. As one watches, it is not difficult to fancy that, away back in the immemorial and unrecorded past, the angel of love bewailed the 
fact that mortals were to be given 
existence in a spot so forbidding, a 
spot that, apparently, was never to 
be warmed with God’s smile, which 
was never to make a sign through 
which God’s mercy was to be dis¬ 
cerned; that then omnipotence was 
touched, that with His hand He 
smote the hills and started the great 
river in its flow; that with His finger 
He traced out the channel across the 
corpse of that other river that had 
been fire, mingled the sunbeams 
with the raging waters, and made it 
possible in that fire-blasted frame of 
scoria to swing a picture which 
should be, first to the red man and 
later to the pale races, a certain sign 
of the existence, the power, and the 
unapproachable splendor of Jehovah. 

“And as the red man, through 
the centuries, watched the spectacle, 
comprehending nothing except that 
an infinite voice was smiting- his 


ears, and insufferable glories were 
blazing before his eyes; so, through 
the centuries to come, the pale races 


MOYEA FALLS, IDAHO. 


will stand upon the shuddering shore and watch, experiencing a mighty impulse to put off the sandals from their feet, under an over¬ 
mastering consciousness that the spot on which they are standing is holy ground. 

“There is nothing elsewhere like it, nothing half so weird, so beautiful, so clothed in majesty, so draped with terror; nothing else 
that awakens impressions at once so startling, so winsome, so profound. While journeying through the desert, to come suddenly upon it, 
the spectacle gives one something of the emotions that would be experienced in beholding a resurrection from the dead. In the midst of what 
seems like a dead world, suddenly there springs into irrepressible life something so marvelous, so grand, so caparisoned with loveliness and 




SHOSHONE FALLS. 





















112 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 




irresistible might, that the head is bowed, the strained heart throbs tumultuously, and the awed soul sinks to its knees.” The time is fast 
approaching when the sublime glories of Shoshone Falls will be appreciated by tourists, and by that large class of summer vacationists who 

are always searching for sights and places that will drive away the ennui _ 

from which they chiefly suffer. The beat of ocean billow, the roar of 
waterfall, the stretch of landscape from lofty mountain peak, the lonely 
quietude of glen and wilderness, each have their votaries; but about Sho¬ 
shone’s chasm there is more to charm than all of these, for the very desola¬ 
tion of its environments adds fascination to the wild and tameless scenery of 
the falls. The poet and the painter find here an inspiration for their 
genius; while the most prosaic spectator is thrilled by the matchless 
grandeur, the majestic awfulness of a mad-cantering river plunging through 
a gigantic rent, and over a precipice so high that the waters are scattered 
into mist and dissolve in rainbows when they meet the seething caldron 
below. It is a strange exhibition of nature’s power and freakishness, a 
manifestation of mysterious force, a blending of results precipitated by 
vomiting volcano and an irresistible flood of waters, the joining of rivers 
of fire with streams breaking over the barriers of mountains and pouring 

down upon the plains. 

Considering the surround¬ 
ings, the bleak sterility of 
what appears to be a bound¬ 
less extent of lava fields, and 
the mighty, awe-compelling 
avalanche of waters that 
cleaves it, Shoshone Falls 
is perhaps the most remark¬ 
able waterfall to be found 
anywhere on either conti¬ 
nent, a wonder in which 
Snake River has an almost 
equal part. Indeed, this 
extraordinary river exhibits 
many equally astonishing 
features along its extreme 
length, for while a greater 
part of the stream flows 
through a belt of scoria, the 
lower portion is a succession 
of waterfalls, second only to 

THE FERRY AT SHOSHONE FALLS. those of Shoshone. NATURAL BRIDGE, SHOSHONE FALLS. 














CHAPTER V. 

OVER THE HEIGHTS AND INTO THE DEEPS OF WONDERLAND. 




(^WAVING satisfied our curiosity and embalmed the views of Shoshone Falls, as here presented, our party of photographers and 
Jk historiographer returned to Colorado over the same route that we had come, but at Grand Junction we proceeded southward over 
^ I the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad to Gunnison, Ouray and Tulleride. At Grand Junction, Grand River divides, the southern 

i branch of which is called Gunnison River, and takes its rise in the Sagauche and Elk ranges; and it was along the valley of this 
south branch that our route lay. It is characteristic of Colorado rivers that all of them flow through large fissures, and a majority 
have cleft the mountains into mighty chasms, thus producing the matchless scenery which has helped so much to make the State 
famous. It fortunately happens that the most picturesque places in the west are either directly upon the lines or in the near vicinity of 

railroads, for necessity has compelled their 
construction along the river valleys, since 
there are few other passes in the mount¬ 
ains, and no other routes so feasible. 

The scenery along the south branch 
of Grand River is very similar to that 
which we have described on the main 
stream, and leaving Grand Junction we 
almost immediately entered the Unaweep 
Canon, thence in succession Puniweep and 
Escalante. The road leaves the valley of 
the main stream at Delta, and follows a 
smaller branch (Cedar River) a distance 
of fifty or sixty miles, until Cimarron is 
reached, below the southern terminus of 
the Mesa Verde. In this interval, and run¬ 
ning along the north side of the Mesa 
Verde—Green Plateau—is the Grand Canon 
of the Gunnison, a cleft in the earth that 
is magnificently imposing, possessing as it 
does many of the characteristics of Grand 
River, though the walls are of limestone 
and hence not so precipitous, as being 


V- 


UNAWEEP CANON. 


TOADSTOOL ROCK, NEAR GUNNISON. 


more easily eroded than granite, the base of the walls are cut until in many places they shelve far over the stream, while at frequent 
intervals the river is broken by cascades and waterfalls, those of Chippeta being particularly beautiful. 

Black Canon, which begins near the town of Cimarron, is another wild gorge, through which the river glides with stately and 
uninterrupted majesty, a deep crystalline stream, until it passes Curracanti Needle, when the smooth flow is interrupted by bowlders which 
convert it into a rapid. Currecanti Needle is an object which excites the almost reverent wonder of every beholder. It is a symmetrical 


113 


8 
















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


114 

cone of red basalt, resting its feet in the Gun¬ 
nison River and shooting up to an amazing 
height, its summit terminating in a spire that 
pierces the clouds, while its body is as varie¬ 
gated with bright colors as was Joseph’s coat. 
On each side of the stream the bluffs reach up 
2,000 feet, but the needle soars very much 
more loftily, a great sachem among the stone 
giants that stand in colossal files along the 
river. Near Sapinero, which is at the eastern 
end of the cation, the walls draw so near 
together that the light of day is almost entirely 
excluded, but at places where the sun is ad¬ 
mitted they sparkle with dazzling lustre, 
caused by reflections from the mica of which 
they are largely composed. 

From Gunnison the road follows 
Tomachi Creek eastward, passing over a coun¬ 
try devoid of particular interest, except as 
views are afforded of high mountains in the 
Fossil Ridge, Sagauche and Sangre de Cristo 
ranges far away, until the ascent of Marshall’s 
Pass is begun. The road now rises rapidly 
until it crosses the Rocky Mountains, at an 
elevation of 11,000 feet. But the ascent is 
indirect, in a serpentine course close to the 
cone of Mount Ouray, which penetrates the 
depths of heaven, to a height of 14,000 feet; 
so lofty that the sun shines brightly upon its 
snow-covered summit, while the earth below is 
wrapped in the sable garments of deepest night. 
Round and round, but in an ascending circle, 
the laboring train makes its toilsome way, until 
we see the tracks below us looking like a suc¬ 
cession of terraces. At the apex we run through 
a long tunnel of snow-sheds, through openings 
in which a view may be had of the extinct 
crater of Ouray, while a hundred miles away 
towards the south, and across a wide expanse 
of plain, the frosted ridge of Sangre de Cristo 


BOX CANON FALLS, NEAR GUNNISON. 
















EAGLE ROCK, SHOSHONE FALLS. 






















n6 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



is clearly visible through the tenuous air. The ride over this great mountain is one of the most delightful and picturesque in all the world, 
and leaves an impression which is as charming and fadeless as the memory of a boy’s first triumph. After passing down the mountain 
side, a short run brings us to Ponclia Junction, at the entrance of the Valley 
of the Arkansas, and a few miles further Salida is reached, a splendid 
little town that is begirt with mountains, but reposes like a jewel in a green 
sea of amazing fertility and beauty. As we rush eastward down this lovely 
valley, some wondrous sights are viewable from our car. On the right the 
Arkansas River bowls along close by the track, while far beyond the 
horizon is belted with the Sangre de Cristo range. On our left our eyes 
are gladdened with the sight of three bristling peaks, known as Harvard, 

Princeton and Yale, which rise above their more humble brothers in the 
Park range. The scene now undergoes a quick change, for the valley becomes 
rapidly narrowed by the mountains drawing together, as if to bar our pas¬ 
sage; but as their seared sides and snowy crests become more distinct by a 
closer approach, the scenery increases in interest until soon it develops into 
positive grandeur. At Parkdale we observe that the sloping sides of the 
mountains are becoming more abrupt and rocky, until five miles beyond, 
the gigantic, the marvelous and the terror-inspiring Royal Gorge bursts 
full upon our amazed and startled senses. The colossal peak has been 
cut in twain; sliced by the persistent waters of the Arkansas, that with 
remorseless jaws have eaten through the heart of the giant mountain that 
lay down in its way; and there the great gash breaks before us, into which 
the ravening river rushes, with a growling voice and imperious dash, as 
reckless as a bandit, and impetuous as a fiery youth. Pines and aspens 
struggle up the mountain sides, but where the waters have split a way 
there is nothing save vertical walls of stone that soar up, up, so high that 
it wearies the sight to travel to their summits. There are seams and 
depressions in their awful cliffs, and projections and cavities that show 
imprints of the teeth of frost, and away up on these eagles have found 
resting places, and built their eyries where only the storm-god can reach 
them. Distance, as expressed in feet on paper, conveys scarcely an idea of 
mountain height or canon depth, for the awesome presence is lacking. But 
the height of the walls of the Royal Gorge, or, as it is sometimes called, 
the Grand Canon of the Arkansas, is 3,000 feet, or more than half a mile, 
while the chasm is only fifty feet wide where the river rushes through, and 
but seventy feet at the summit. Three Eiffel towers, set upon top of each 
other, would hardly reach the crown of these tremendous cliffs, around the 
crests of which flying eagles look like flies lazily swimming in a haze of 
distance. In order to avoid cutting a road-bed through the base of the per¬ 
pendicular cliffs, which come very close together, an iron bridge has been 


PROFILE ROCK, NEAR OURAY. 











MOUTH OF GRAND RIVER CANON 





118 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



thrown around the defile and suspended by anchoring its sides in the 
granite walls, so that it has no pillared supports, for none are needed. 
Upon this suspended bridge, which runs parallel with and over the 
stream, every passenger train stops for the space of several minutes to 
give opportunity for an inspection of the Royal Gorge, which is most 
appalling and wonderful at this point. 

The eastern end of the gorge is at Canon City, and after leaving 
this place the valley widens rapidly and spreads out into an arid plain 
that joins the prairies of Kansas. The change from a weirdly wild 
and savagely astounding canon, to the pale landscape of a verdureless 
desert, is very sudden, and there is no variation in the passionless 
monotony of alkaline plain that lies between the mountain and Pueblo, 
a distance of forty miles. The Arkansas loses much of its volume and 
activity in struggling through the parched lands, becoming a listless 
stream, and murky with sediment that is gathered from its fast¬ 
washing banks. 

We had to double upon our route very often in order to reach 

the numerous points of 
interest and charming 
scenery which is accessi¬ 
ble by railroad, but in 
many cases much time 
was saved by dividing 
our party, though we re¬ 
frain from wearying the 
reader with the uninter¬ 
esting particulars of 
these movements. In 
the present instance, 
however, two of our 
photographers, with the 
camera car, proceeded 
southwest from Pueblo, 
over the Denver & Rio 
Grande R. R., to Wagon- 
Wheel Gap while the 
others of our party re¬ 
turned, by way of the 
same route we had just 
traversed, to Montrose, 



LEANING TOWER, PERRY PARK. 


CASCADE AT OURAY. 























CURRECANTI NEEDLE, ON CURRECANTI RIVER, COLORADO. 





















120 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


thence to Ouray, and from that terminus, 
by stage, to Ironton, a distance of seven 
miles. From this latter point they fol¬ 
lowed the sweep of the same road, called 
the Rainbow route, around to Alamoso, 
where a junction was made with the two 
photographers on their return journey 
from Wagon-Wheel Gap. 

The journey south from Montrose 
is along Uneompaglire River—every little 
stream is called a river in the far west— 
which, like many other streams we have 
described, has worn a deep bed, in which 
it is now confined by high walls of poly¬ 
chromatic colors, very beautiful to see. 
From the occasional rises over which the 
road passes, very lovely views are to be 
had of Horse-Fly Peak on the west, and 
the rather gentle elevation of Tongue 
Mesa on the east. At Dallas the scenery 
becomes much more rugged, and thence 
to Ouray, and Silverton, which is twenty 
miles from Ironton, the landscape is 
tumultuous; for nature is here in strange 
derangement, not to say chaotic dismem¬ 
berment. It appeared an impossible feat 
to connect Ouray and Ironton by a stage- 
road, so tempestuously craggy is the inter¬ 
val, rent as it is by mighty chasm and 
spurred by amazing peaks of stones piled 
up into vast pyramids of confusion. But 
engineering skill dominated even here, 
and not only was a wagon-road cut 
through this chain of obstacles, but a 
narrow-gauge railroad was successfully 
constructed between Ironton and 
Silverton. 

The approach to Ouray is by a way 
impressively magnificent, through rifts in 
castellated walls that are rich with the 



TWIN FALLS, NEAR AMES, COLORADO. 






CHIPPETA FALLS, IN BLACK CARON OF GUNNISON RIVER 













22 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


miliary colors, and lofty enough to bathe their 
:rests in the clouds. There goes the river, like 
i belated business man trying to overtake time, 
oaring, fretting, panting, with hardly enough 
;pace between the escarpments to admit its 
passage. Along, and over and around this 
nad-dashing stream the road winds, up and 
lown, in and out, until the points of the coin- 
bass lose their bearings, and swing around in 
listraction. 

Ouray lies at peace with the world, in a 
basin whose sides are like a giant’s punch¬ 
bowl, only that the confinement is by a succes¬ 
sion of mountain ranges piling up behind each 
bther until the highest attain an altitude of 
14,235 feet, and hold perpetual carnival with 
the snow-storm. That little basin seems to be 
the paint-pot of the Titans, and the mountains 
their mixing-boards. Letting our sight travel 
slowly up the soaring slopes, every step of the 
way is one of beauty. Clothed with a luxuri¬ 
ous growth of yellow aspen, the brown of oak, 
the deep green of spruce, and the silver sheen 
of mountain pine, the picture needs only a 
frame to make it perfect. And there above is 
the thing desired; for where the timber line 
ends, the flaming colors of red, orange, purple, 
gray and brown stone begins, rising ever higher 
until they fade away behind the mists that 
gather about the peaks. 

As we proceed on the way to Silverton 
the road inclines through forests whose autumn 
tints keep the eye dancing with admiration, 
and having descended two thousand feet, the 
mouth of Bear Creek is reached, where it rolls 
along a terrible cataract, known as Bear Creek 
Cascade. A little further on, we dash out 
upon a bridge which spans a dizzy height, for, 
there below us, the raging creek plunges over 
a precipice 275 feet high, and is dashed into 



JAWS OF DEATH, ANIMAS CANON. 









MOUNT OURAY, COLORADO. 

















124 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


vapor upon the rocks. It is a startling sight 
to behold the surging waters, and watch the 
mad plunge that falls into a cauldron as angry 
as ever witches stretched hands about. 

Thence onward we pursue our exciting 
ride, with mountains on either side, by the 
Needles, Sultan Peak, silver cascades, until 
soon we reach the Valley of the Animas, and 
are presently hurled into the wildly weird and 
awfully sublime Animas Canon. A very sug¬ 
gestive name was given by the early Span¬ 
iards to this stream: Rio de los Animas, 
signifying the river of lost souls , for nothing 
could be more gruesomely somber. The 
canon proper is about fifteen miles long, and 
lies between Rockwood and Durango, and is 
a cleavage that separates the San Juan and 




EXCAVATIONS in the CLIFFS, MANCOS CANON. 


RUINS OF CLIFF DWELLINGS IN MANCOS CANON. 




















WEST SIDE OF MARSHALL PASS, SHOWING THE WINDING DESCENT OF THE ROAD. 















126 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


San Miguel ranges. The walls 
are perpendicular, and the pas¬ 
sage so narrow that the sunlight 
can hardly get through. The 
railroad runs along the breast 
of the solid rock walls, on a 
ledge or balcony that had to be 
cut in the sheer escarpment, 
1,500 feet above the river, but 
the top of the frowning enclos¬ 
ure is still 500 feet higher. 
Sitting at the car window, the 
traveler looks down into what 
appears to be an almost bottom¬ 
less gulch, and sees the beating 
waters swirling in pools, and 
tossing in a terrific tumult that 
fills the canon with deafening 
roar. While the river here is 
a succession of cataracts, there 
are waterfalls on either side, 
leaping down from bordering 
cliffs and joining hands with 
the impetuous river. 

A few miles from Los Pinos 
Canon and Toltec Gorge is the 
bustling town of Durango, 
which is the supply depot for 
the San Juan mining district. 
This place received a great im¬ 
petus by the reported discovery 
of rich placer gold mines in 
southeastern Utah, in Novem¬ 
ber of 1892, and at this time its 
future appears to be very prom¬ 
ising. The region is altogether 
one of extraordinary interest 
alike for the miner, tourist and 
relic-hunter, for thirty miles 
west of the town are the 



CALCAREOUS CLIFFS OF GRAND RIVER. 

















THE ROYAL GORGE, CANON OF THE ARKANSAS. 















128 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



picturesque ruins of very ancient cliff-dwellers, who, in the early centuries, excavated deep recesses in the perpendicular walls along the 
Rio Mancos, and there made their homes. Evidently they were of the same race, and no doubt were contemporary with those who fled from 
the Spanish persecutors and took refuge in artificial caves in the Grand Canon of the Colorado. 

Southwest of these now vacant cave dwellings, in the northeast corner of Arizona, is a short branch of the San Juan River, known 
as the Rio de Chelly, which runs through a canon celebrated in the history of Indian warfare as presenting the most serious obstacles 
encountered by expeditions under Colonel Sumner and General Canby. The region, and particularly De Chelly Canon, was the stronghold 
of the Navajoe Indians, who rendered the defile almost impregnable. Time and again efforts were made by large bodies of troops to force 
a passage, but as often they 
were driven back by the 
Indians hurling stones down 
the thousand feet of perpen¬ 
dicular height. The rear 
was likewise protected by 
remarkable ruggedness of 
the approach, and an army 
sent against them was thus 
held at bay by the Indians 
for several months. Kit 
Carson was finally given a 
commission as colonel and 
sent against the defiant 
marauders with a force of 
five hundred men. Under¬ 
standing all the difficulties 
of the situation, he so dis¬ 
posed his army as to hold 
the Indians within their 
lines of refuge, aud choos¬ 
ing winter as the best time 
for action, laid a siege that 
effectually cut off all com¬ 
munication. Aid from 
the outside being thus pre¬ 
vented, and all supplies shut off, the Navajoes were presently reduced to such straits that after three desperate but futile efforts to escape, 
the entire band surrendered. 

After passing through Animas Canon, on the eastern journey, the scenery continues impressively beautiful, for several pellucid 
streams are crossed at points where they have cut deep furrows in the earth, and eaten their way through opposing mountains. At Ignacio 
we met with the first considerable number of Indians seen thus far during our trip. This place is the headquarters of the Southern Utes’ 
reservation, and was named after their chief. Twenty miles beyond we cross the Rio Piedra and enter the valley of the San Juan, which is 
followed for nearly sixty miles, and until Navajo is reached, where another small band of miserable-looking Indians have their quarters. 


PHANTOM CURVE. 










w ^ 


TRAIL OVER THE SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS 



CREVICE CANON, NEAR OURAY 







AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


130 



and besiege incoming passenger trains with importunities that travelers almost invariably generously respond to. Now we are running 
along the borders of New Mexico, a line of demarkation indicated by the San Juan range that lies north of us, while southward stretches 
away the undulating and arid plains. At Ainargo we are met by another band of Indians, whose sullen countenances and bedraggled 
appearance plainly show them to be Apaches, whose numbers, however, are now so reduced that the murderous raids which made the tribe 
celebrated in the early annals of the far west, are not likely to be repeated again. 

We cross the Conejos range at Cumbres, at an elevation of 10,000 feet, and after traversing a lower range of the San Juan we again strike 
the Los Pinos River, and, taking a turn around Prospect Peak, come in view of Toltec Gorge, one of the most fearfully grand canons in the 
world. The mountain is pierced by a tunnel near its summit, which is approached by a balcony trestle, on which the east-bound train stops 
several minutes to permit the passen¬ 
gers to gaze into the dreadful depths of 
the chasm over which they hang. For 
it must be understood that the road-bed 
is built here upon a trestle that has 
all its fastenings in the perpendicular 
walls, and without any support be¬ 
neath, so that to one looking from the 
car window the train appears to be 
suspended in mid-air, 1,000 feet above 
the rolling waters below. 

The gorge is 1,200 feet deep, 
and besides being narrow, the walls 
are perpendicular, so that daylight 
tarries but a short while in its pro¬ 
found recesses. As we pass the Toltec 
Gorge, Phantom Curve is appoached, 
and from the grandeur and awesome¬ 
ness with which the great abyss im¬ 
pressed us, our interest is quickened 
and spell-bound by objects that at once 
excite wonder and curious amazement. 

We are suddenly introduced to forms 
more strange than monstrous, more 
remarkable for their incongruity than 


ANTELOPE PARK, NEAR TOLTEC GORGE. 


significant for their grandeur. The chisels of nature’s sculptors, frost, water, storms, ice and decay have wrought many astounding things 
in stone, which rival in grotesque eccentricity the queer figures that render famous the Garden of the Gods. Passing this parade-ground of 
nature’s idols, we strike the Big Horn Curve, and twist like a contortionist in making a devious descent, that winds and winds until at last 
we reach the feet of the Sangre de Cristo range, at Antonito. Thence our direction was due north, over a level country, until we reached 
Alamosa, where, as per arrangement, we met the others of our party on their return from Wagon-Wheel Gap. Here we received reports 
of the trip from Pueblo, and tarried a while to write up our journals, pack our negatives, and prepare for the journey that by a long sweep, 
was to take us to the lands of the Pacific, 











DEER PARK CASCADE, ANIMAS CANON 


OURAY AND SILVERTON STAGE-ROAD, 























*32 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



The trip southward from Pueblo possesses comparatively little interest until Cuchara Junction is reached, where one branch of the 
Denver and Rio Grande Railroad starts directly west, while the other continues south to Trinidad, and there forms a junction with the 
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. 

At Cuchara the scenery changes from waste plains to a tumultuary landscape similar to sections which we have just described. The 
road follows the valley of Cuchara for a distance of twenty miles, and then begins a rapid ascent towards Veta Pass, which is, in some 
respects, more wonderful than even Marshall Pass. In one place the grade is 216 feet to the mile, so steep that two locomotives are 
required to haul even light trains, and so serpentine that to passengers the cars appear to be moving in a circle. When the summit is 
reached, an altitude of 9,400 
feet above sea level has been 
gained, and there is a pano¬ 
rama presented that it seems 
almost sacriligious to attempt 
to describe. Away to the 
south rises up, like monsters 
plucking stars from the sky, 
the Spanish Peaks, whose 
frosted heads are often hidden 
by clouds that gather about 
them; towards the west, dim 
with distance, is seen the 
commanding form of Sierra 
Blanca, whose crown is the 
very heavens; and north¬ 
ward, La Veta Mountain, 
stupendous and sublime, 
stands like a grizzly sentinel, 
surveying the lesser wonders 
of nature and protecting 
them against the fierce 
storms that beat the bronzed 
breasts of the Rockies. Mule- 
shoe Curve, over which we 
made the approach up Dump 
Mountain, is plainly visible, 

as are the numerous tracks that gridiron the slopes, and the waterfalls that play hide and seek along the mountain sides. Looking down 
we see the fast-receding banks and almost perpendicular cliffs, and the giant bowlders that have been hurled from the summit into the 
abyssmal depths a mile below, gathered into dams to impede the flow of waters. The view towards the east is unbroken, and there, 
spreading out like the lap of bounty, we watch the green prairie running away from the mountain base to meet the horizon. 

Crossing La Veta’s lofty pass, the descent is rapid and tortuous, until a level is reached in the San Luis Park, which is abloom 
with the glories of cultivated fields, and animate with grazing herds. This great park, that covers an area equal to the State of 


LAKE BRENNAN, IN SOUTH PARK, NEAR PLATTE CANON. 




CITY OF OURAY, AND OURAY MOUNTAINS, COLORADO, 























AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


134 

Connecticut, was, in the early years of the world’s life, a vast inland sea, 
though its elevation is now more than 7,000 feet. The earth has absorbed 
nearly all its waters, though San Luis Lake still lies near its center, shin¬ 
ing like a sheet of silver, and is fed by thirty mountain streams. All around 
this lake, whose length is sixty miles, is a waving savanna of luxuriant 
grasses, which form the frame of as pretty a picture as the eye of man ever 
wandered over. 

As we proceed westward from La Veta Pass, the landscape becomes 
somewhat tame, though when we reach Fort Garland the grandest view is 
obtainable of Sierra Blanca Mountain, whose peak is at an elevation of 
14,500 feet, the second highest in America. We cross San Luis Park, and 
having again reached Alamosa, continue on towards Wagon-Wheel Gap, by 
way of the picturesque valley of the Rio Grande del Norte. Though 
while en route we pass through no wonderful canons, the way is full of 
interest and beautiful scenery. The river, in places, spreads out into a 
noiseless and sluggish stream, while again it is contracted by narrow walls 
into cascades and roaring waterfalls of exceeding magnificence. Especially 
is this true when we draw near to Wagon-Wheel Gap, where the walls are 
not only narrow, but rise into palisades of great height and beauty, and at 
one place, for the distance of half a mile, there are cliffs that soar skyward 
and lean towards the river, making a rocky canopy above the roadway that 
hugs the rushing stream. 

We are now in the famous Creede mining region, where, besides 
silver to lure the avaricious seeker of riches, there is much to excite the 
admiration of the tourist and lover of nature. La Gorita Mountains lie 
towards the north in vast banks of haze, and the southern horizon is broken 
by the San Juan range. Here, also, is a region of surprising springs, where 
boiling-hot and ice-cold waters gush out of neighboring hills, and in places 
actually strike hands to neutralize each other. Creede, which is ten miles 
from Wagon-Wheel Gap, is a typical mining camp, full of excitement 
and all the concomitants of a new and rich discovery, though it is 
rapidly acquiring civilized ways. Willow Gulch is the scene of greatest 
activity, and there is now to be obtained, for a fair equivalent, everything 
from bad fighting whiskey to a spring bed, though the latter is still a scarce 
luxury, particularly in the immediate vicinity of Willow Gulch. 

After our meeting and short stay at Alamosa, our party again divided, 
two of our photographers going south from that point, over the New Mexico 
extension of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, to Santa Fe, while the 
other proceeded east to Cuchara Junction, thence south to Trinidad, and 
from that place he went by way of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe 



MAIDEN HAIR FALLS, NEAR DUMP MOUNTAIN 






ANIMAS CANON. 






























AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS 


136 


Railroad, to Santa Fe, where our party 
again united. 

The route directly south from Ala¬ 
mosa is across a well-watered country, but 
there is nothing of particular interest in 
the way of scenery until the town of 
Barranca is reached, where the road strikes 
the Rio Grande. Out of a level plain the 
train now dashes into deep gorges, and 
winds along the banks of a stream that is 
justly celebrated for the wild and rugged 
pageantry of mountains which it pierces. 
Comanche Canon bursts into view, a glori¬ 
ous revelation of chaos, whose cliffs of 
marl and basaltic rock have tried in vain 
to arrest the energy and daunt the skill of 
civil engineers. As a consequence, their 
sides are rent and bored into cuts and tun¬ 
nels, until the mountains of stone are made 
to acknowledge man’s sovereignty. 

Fifteen miles south of Barranca is 
Espanola, a quaint old Spanish town, 
whose chief interest, however, lies in the 
fact that it is the nearest railroad point to 
some of the most interesting pueblos and 
cliff ruins that are to be found in New 
Mexico. The Indian adobes in this 
vicinity, which claim the largest attention 
of the anthropologist, are those of San 
Juan, Santa Clara and San Idelfonso, all 
situated within three or four miles of 
Espanola. At Santa Clara are also the 
ruins of cliff dwellings, relics of the habita¬ 
tions of a race that exists no longer, save 
in uncertain traditions. 

The little knowledge that we have 
respecting these ancient people is derived 
from the investigations of the late James 
Stevenson, chief of the Hayden Survey, 
who explored the cliff and cave dwellings 



CLIFF DWELLINGS IN THE RIO MANCOS CAfiON. 






RUINS OF CLIFF DWELLERS IN MANCOS CAlSON, COLORADO. 





133 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


of Arizona and New Mexico. His labors were rewarded also by the discovery of two perfect skeletons, in the Canon de Chelly, which 
proved to be those of prehistoric inhabitants. He also, by patient study, obtained a very thorough knowledge of the religious mythology 
of the Zunis, and secured a complete collection of their fetich-gods, besides familiarizing himself with the manners and beliefs of the 
Navajoes and Moquis. We hold him in remembrance for his pioneer as well as scientific services. It was Stevenson that made the first 
survey of Yellowstone Park, who traced the Columbia and Snake Rivers to their sources, and who was the first white man to climb the 
Great Tetons, in Wyoming, and reach the Indians’ sacred altar, which has been kept inviolate for centuries. 

The six ancient pueblos, which are still inhabited by Indians, were discovered by the Spaniards only forty-eight years after Columbus 
first landed on San Salvador, and they 
are thus entitled to rank among the 
earliest discoveries of this character 
ever made. In the neighboring cliffs 
are numerous cave dwellings equally 
prehistoric in their origin, but which 
Mr. Stevenson explored with the 
most valuable results, enabling him to 
determine the habits and peculiarities 
of these archaic people. On the west 
side of the road, and bounded by 
Caliente Creek, is the black Mesa, a 
curious elevation that might once have 
been an island in the ocean that 
covered this region when the world 
was young. Towards the east, and 
in bold view, is the Taos range, which 
merges into the Culebra range further 
north, and thence into the Sangre de 
Cristo. Between the railroad and the 
Taos Mountain, lies the town of Taos, 
in a beautiful valley, watered by 
branches of the Rio Grande. It is a 
quaint old place, composed chiefly of 
two great adobe buildings five stories 



high, surrounded 


WEAPONS AND UTENSILS OF THE CLIFF-DWELLERS. 


by prosperous 
ranches and crumbling pueblos, and 
is celebrated as having been the home of Kit Carson, and the place where his body reposes. 


His grave is marked by an imposing monu¬ 


ment erected to his memory, as a mark of gratitude for his intrepid services, by citizens of New Mexico. The place is accordingly 
something of a shrine, but is not much visited, because it is about twenty-five miles from the railroad, except on the 30th of September of 
each year, when it is the scene of a great festival, at which thousands of people gather. A more beautiful and fertile spot, however, is not 
to be found anywhere in the west. 

Comanche Canon is entered just above Embudo, by way of which the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad enters the Rio Grande 






LAKE SAN CRISTOVAL, IN THE LAP OF OURAY MOUNTAINS, COLORADO. 





140 AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 

Valley. The gorge is so rugged that it was necessary to make a great many deep cuts in the walls of marl and basalt, so that the way 
through the canon is more picturesque by reason of the engineer’s work than nature designed it. 

Nearly midway between the pueblo ruins just mentioned and the city of Santa Fe, along the Rio Grande, is the Canon Diabolo, a 
chasm that is not strikingly deep, but sufficiently weird to justify the Satanic appellation. High up in the walls, particularly near 
Espanola, are relics of a vanished race, in the form of excavations which once served as habitations, though evidently they were difficult of 
access. The appearance of these rock perforations are very similar to those on the Rio Mancos, and in the canon cliffs of the Colorado; so 
nearly identical, in fact, that Stevenson expresses the belief that they were made by members of the same race, who took refuge in these 
caves when driven from their pueblos. At Santa Fe, a short stop was made to await the photographer who had passed around by Trinidad. 
The trip which he had made was in 
every respect as interesting as that 
which we had taken over the direct 
southern route. Upon passing beyond 
the Sangre de Cristo range eastward, 
the scenery grows tamely monotonous 
for a time, for the landscape is tire- 
somely level. But before reaching 
Trinidad, another agreeably surprising 
change occurs, as the Raton range 
breaks into view, and presents a 
kaleidoscopic variety of beautiful 
scenes. Trinidad lies at the foot of 
this range, and though it may not be 
described as a city of great architectural 
magnificence, certain it is that few 
places can boast of greater interest to 
the tourist. It was, long ago, the 
most important point on the old Santa 
Fe trail, and its ancient adobe houses 
were objects of endearment to the hearts 
of freighters, because they offered both 
refuge and refreshment after the perils 
of a dangerous journey. Though a 
great change has taken place since the 
railroad reached the town, it is still a typical Mexican city, which even the electric light cannot convert. Passing over the border into 
New Mexico, the scenery is varied and pleasing, but never grand. Instead of an arid region, however, the country is diversified, for all of 
the northeastern region is abundantly watered by creeks flowing towards the southeast, with occasional rivers, like the Canadian, 
Cimarron and Pecos, intersecting the railroad. On both sides of the road there are numerous knolls, called mesas, and craters long 
since burned out. The ascent of Raton Pass, sometimes called the “Devil’s Way,” affords many exquisite views, of which the Spanish 
Peaks, one hundred miles to the north, are chief, for the atmosphere is so clear and rare that they appear as distinct as though the distance 
were scarcely one-fourth so great. Upon gaining an altitude of 7,700 feet, the road enters a tunnel on the Raton Crest, and after a 


-r, 


THE GRAVE OF KIT CARSON, AT TAOS. 









TOLTEC GORGE OF THE LOS PINOS, COLORADO. 














142 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 




half-mile run emerges on the New Mexico side, where the sunlight appears to be intensified and the warmth of perpetual summer holds 
sway. The next considerable town reached after leaving Trinidad is Las Vegas, which reposes on a branch of the Pecos, the center of a 
great many sheep ranches, and it is wool that gives it chief importance. Six miles north of the place is Las Vegas Hot Springs, a 
sanitarium of much note, located in a region of considerable beauty. They are at the mouth of a small canon which leads up to the 
Spanish Range, and thence joins the Rocky Mountains; the waters range in temperature from boiling hot to almost freezing cold. 

At a station called Lamy, there is a branch of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, leading north eighteen miles, to the 
ancient and interesting city of Santa Fe, celebrated in American history as being the second oldest town in the United States. The place 
contains much to entertain searchers after relics of the past, and here we find the links that bind the old Spanish invaders with the civiliza¬ 
tion of to-day. Settled by Catholics, it still retains the characteristics impressed upon it by the Franciscan fathers, and remains true to the 

faith in which it was first baptized. It is 
the seat of the archiepiscopal diocese, and 
the Cathedral of San Francisco is the 
largest church edifice in the territory, as 
well as the oldest, the original part, which 
still remains, having been built as early 
as 1622. 

Old as the town is, Santa Fe is the 
Phoenix that rose from one that was very 
much more ancient, for the site was, in 
the ages that are very remote, occupied by 
an Indian pueblo, the ruins of which are still 
to be*seen in what is known as the “ Old 
Home.” But the most curious and attract¬ 
ive object within the city is the Governor’s 
Palace, a long, low building erected in 
1598, a summary history of which is thus 
presented by Governor Prince : 

“Without disparaging the impor¬ 
tance of any of the cherished historical 
localities of the East, it may be truthfully 

said that this ancient palace surpasses, in 
CAVE DWELLINGS in the CANON DE CHELLY. historic interest and value> any other place A RELIC OF THE CAVE-DWELLtRS. 

or object in the United States. It antedates the settlement of Jamestown by nine years, and that of Plymouth by twenty-two, and has 
stood during the 292 years since its erection, not as a cold rock or monument, with no claim upon the interest of humanity except the bare 
fact of its continued existence, but as the living center of everything of historic importance in the Southwest. Through all that long 
period, whether under Spanish, Pueblo, Mexican, or American control, it has been the seat of power and authority. Whether the ruler 
was called viceroy, captain-general, political chief, department commander, or governor, and whether he presided over a kingdom, a 
province, a department, or a territory, this has been his official residence. From here Onate started, in 1599, on his adventurous expedition 
to the Eastern plains; here, seven years later, 800 Indians came from far-off Quivira to ask aid in their war with the Axtaos; from here, in 
1618, Vincente de Salivar set forth to the Moqui country, only to be turned back by rumors of the giants to be encountered; and from here 
















LA VETA PASS, COLORADO. 

















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


144 



Penalosa and his brilliant troop started, on the 6th of March, 1662, on their marvelous expedition to the Missouri; in one of its strong-rooms 
the commissary-general of the Inquisition was imprisoned a few years later by the same Penalosa; within its walls, fortified as for a siege, 
the bravest of the Spaniards were massed in the revolution of 1680; here, on the 19th of August of that year, was given the order to execute 
forty-seven Pueblo prisoners, in the plaza which faces the building; here, but a day later, was the sad war-council held which determined 
on the evacuation of the city; here was the scene of triumph of the Pueblo chieftains as they ordered the destruction of the Spanish archives 
and the church ornaments in one grand conflagration; here De Vargas, on September 14, 1692, after the eleven hours’ combat of the 
preceding day, gave thanks to the Virgin Mary, to whose aid he attributed his triumphant capture of the city; here, more than a century 
later, on March 3, 1807, Lieutenant 
Pike was brought before Governor 
Alencaster as an invader of Spanish 
soil; here, in 1822, the Mexican 
standard, with its eagle and cactus, 
was raised in token that New Mexico 
was no longer a dependency of Spain; 
from here, on the 6th of August, 

1837, Governor Perez started to sub¬ 
due the insurrection in the north, 
only to return two days later and to 
meet his death on the 9th, near Agua 
Fria; here, on the succeeding day, 

Jose Gonzales, a Pueblo Indian of 
Taos, was installed as Governor of 
New Mexico, soon after to be executed 
by order of Armijo; here, in the prin¬ 
cipal reception-room, on August 12, 

1846, Captain Cooke, the American 
envoy, was received by Governor 
Armijo and sent back with a message 
of defiance; and here, five days later, 

General Kearney formally took pos¬ 
session of the city, and slept, after his 
long and weary march, on the carpeted 
earthen floor of the palace.” 

Santa Fe now has many things that belong to the present age: street cars, electric lights, etc., but she is, nevertheless, still a place of 
adobe houses, before which there is ever a varied commingling of Americans, Mexicans and Indians. She is also the center of archaeological 
interest, for besides the ancient objects which are to be found within her urban limits, there are villages near-by which present all the 
aspects of the aborigines, practically as they appeared to Cortes and Coronado. These adobe places and their inhabitants are called pueblos, 
because that is the old Indian name signifying town. The pueblos in New Mexico are nineteen in number, and while varying in size, they 
are very similar in appearance, showing, as they do, no variation of architecture. The houses were built to accommodate from one hundred 
to several hundred persons, as the Pueblo Indians were communistic in their manner of living. Instead of being one or two-story structures 


ABANDONED CAVE HABITATIONS OF THE CLIFF-DWELLERS, NEAR ESPANOLA. 




WAGON-WHEEL GAP. 


10 






AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


146 

like the present style of Mexican and the old Spanish adobes, the houses were built one upon another, in a succession of terraces, sometimes 
five or more in number, the upper stories being accessible only by means of ladders. The most noted of these pueblos are Taos, Laguna, 
Acoma, Santa Clara, Zuni and Santo Domingo. Albuquerque was also originally an Indian pueblo, built upon a slight elevation of rock, 
and the place still contains several clusters of square, flat-roofed adobe houses, arranged in terraces, as before described. The walls of these 
strange dwellings are very thick, and the interior is gained, not through doors, but by entrance-ways cut in the roof, which is reached 
only by ladders. The Pueblo 
Indians have been pronounced 
by many ethnologists to be the 
oldest race now living on the 
continent, though many others 
regard them as being the de¬ 
scendants of the Aztecs, whose 
ancient kingdom of Cibola 
extended from Colorado and 
Utah on the north, to Central 
America on the south. The 
capital of this extinct empire is 
supposed to have been situated 
in Penal county, Arizona, the 
ruins of which are traceable 
along the Gila River, in what 
is known as the Casa Grandes. 

Remarkable stories have been 
told of the relics of this ruined 
city, enthusiasts often describ¬ 
ing them as equal in grandeur 
to the prostrate columns and 
mighty archways that speak in 
imperishable stone of the mag¬ 
nificence of ancient Egyptian 
cities. The Montezumas were 
supposed to have held «their 
court in the splendid stone pal¬ 
aces whose relics lie scattered 
through the Casa Grandes, and 
whose carvings and hiero¬ 
glyphics seem to attest the departed glory of a once mighty people. These famous ruins are twelve miles north of Florence, a station on 
the Southern Pacific, and are in a region of great picturesqueness, which is traversed by a good wagon-road running along the Gila River. 
The route is through an arid plain, in which the only vegetation is mesquite and cactus, but the parched desert is gracefully confined by a 
beautiful and opalescent range of mountains, while overhead is a sapphirine sky more brilliant than ever hung over Italy. The river 



SPANISH PEAKS, FROM LAS VEGAS, NEW MEXICO. 







LOS PINOS VALLEY, LOOKING WEST 












AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


148 



margin is like a blue wave, colored as it is by the tossing heads of wild lilac flowers, which find protection from the beating sun under the 
waving branches of banks of willows that stoop low to drink from the river. There, under the shadows of the Tucson Mountains and the 
Sierra Catarina range, are the colossal ruins of the Casa Grandes. The buildings, of which confused heaps are all that now remain, were 
of irregular style, but of some architectural pretension, for the walls were constructed of concrete, moulded into blocks nearly three feet 
square. The principal structure, which has long been called Montezuma’s Palace, was about sixty feet long by fifty broad, and stood five 
stories, or forty feet high. For windows there was a square aperture over each door, wholly insufficient for either light or ventilation, 
though the ancient Indians were not partial to either, apparently preferring darkness; and living in the closest communal state, they 
appreciated fresh air like they 
did the storm and cold, only 
when it was on the outside. 

Occasional pieces of 
copper are found in the Casa 
Grandes ruins, but no iron, and 
the cutting instruments of the 
original occupants were made 
of obsidian, as were their 
arrows. Pottery still strews 
the ground about, but there are 
no evidences to support the old 
legends of magnificence with 
which early travelers invested 
the so-called palace. But there 
are plainly to be seen ruins 
of a great wall that once en¬ 
closed the city, on which were 
sentinel towers rising several 
feet above the main wall, thus 
proving that this was not en¬ 
tirely a land of peace, nor do 
appearances indicate that it 
was one of plenty. The 
Apaches, no doubt, harried the 
less war-like Moqui, who were 
at last driven southward, and 

left ruins of similar cities along their gradual retreat from Utah to Mexico. Professor A. L,. Heister, the antiquarian, who has made a long 
and patient investigation of the pueblo ruins in southwest New Mexico, thus writes of his discoveries: 

“ Within a radius of five miles of St. Joseph, New Mexico, I have discovered several hundred ruins of the habitations of prehistoric 
man. In these ruins—the walls of which are built of undressed stone and cement—are found the remains of huge cisterns; walls of fortifi¬ 
cation; queer implements of bone and stone; beautifully designed, carved or painted pottery, together with odd and artistic pictures, characters 
and symbols cut upon large rocks in canons near, and with such nicety of taste as serve to strike the beholder with wonder and admiration. 


MEXICAN OVENS, USED PRINCIPALLY BY THE PUEBLO INDIANS. 











ADOBE VILLAGE OF PUEBLO INDIANS, NEW MEXICO 




















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


I 5 ° 



“The ruins are generally found on high ground, and are composed of from two to several hundred rooms, averaging about eight by 
ten feet, and six to eight feet in height. In some cases the buildings have been two stories high. There has been a side entrance to all 
of these rooms, but these openings, from some cause, have been carefully walled up. 

“These people were larger than those of to-day, some of them being fully eight feet high. I am led to believe their average height 
was not less than seven feet. They buried their dead in the ground floors of their rooms, with the heads towards the east, and, as a rule, 
their pottery, trinkets and personal ornaments with them. In excavating these ruins, one is constantly impressed with one paramount 
wonder—their great age. Huge pine trees, three and four feet in diameter and 100 feet high, flourish upon the walls and in the rooms of 
these habitations of forgotten 
man. The infilling of drift and 
the increase of surface, caused 
by vegetable growth and decay, 
is very slow, and has been esti¬ 
mated by some geologists to 
average about one foot in eighty 
years. Admitting this to be near 
the truth, our surprise knows 
no bounds when, on sinking 
directly under these giant trees, 
we pass through from six to ten 
feet of vegetable mold, then en¬ 
counter from one to three feet of 
clean-washed sand and gravel, 
then a solid earthen floor cov¬ 
ered with ashes, charcoal, bones 
and fragments of broken pot¬ 
tery. Yet still below this are 
the skeletons of human beings, 
surrounded by their pottery, 
weapons and ornaments of 
stone, bone and copper. My 
own opinion is that these people 
were either Aztecs or Toltecs. 

They were sun-worshipers and 

well advanced in carving, painting, building, weaving and agriculture. They flourished many centuries in Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, 
Mexico, Central and South America, and were exterminated either by famine, flood, disease or volcanic action at least 1,000 years ago. 

“In the eastern part of this (Socorro) county are the ruins of an immense city known as the Grande Quivero, covering two by two 
and one-half miles square. Its walls are, in some places, eight feet thick, forty feet high, and 700 feet long. A great aqueduct carried 
water to the city, but to-day there is no water within forty miles of this ancient wonder. It stands silent and alone in the sunlight and 
moonlight, and where once the love, industry and skill of an unknown race made thousands of beautiful and happy homes, the coyote, bat 
and snake now hold sway. When and by whom it was built was a mystery to the Mexican people more than 300 years ago.” 


SCENE ON THE GREAT AMERICAN DESERT. 





























#»> 



INNER COURT OF A PUEBLO TOWN, ARIZONA. 




























CHAPTER VI. 

ACROSS THE CACTUS DESERT INTO CALIFORNIA’S GOLDEN LAND. 



C EAVING Santa Fe, we continued our journey westward over the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, and striking the 
Rio Grande a short distance south of White Rock Canon, followed the bank of that stream through some very handsome 
scenery until we reached Atlantic and Pacific Junction. Thence for a while the route was through an arid section, where alkali 

^ and musquite abounded; an unchangeable waste of black sterility; a country so level that the laying of a railroad track was 

i V attended by no difficulties, but keeping it clear of sand is a work of great perverseness. We were now on the line of the 

0 U Atlantic and Pacific, which crosses a branch of the Rio Grande at Rio Puerco, and soon after follows the valley of that 

stream for about sixty miles. Faguna is on the way, and north and south are mesas, dry lakes and lava beds, but there is no pictur¬ 
esqueness of landscape. South of 
Fort Wingate, just east of the Arizona 
border, is the Zuni Plateau, in which 
several old ruins are still to be seen; 
but if we except the Indians, who 
exist in the most miserable condition, 
and old ruins and craters of extinct 
volcanoes, the region is without inter¬ 
est, and has few features worthy of 
the photographer’s art. 

After reaching Arizona, the 
road passes through a corner of the 
Perco and Zuni reservations, and fol¬ 
lows the old trail leading to Prescott. 
Immediately south of Flagstaff, and in 
sight of that place, are more ruins of 
cliff dwellings, built in the banks of 
Walnut Creek, but so faded as to be 
scarcely distinguishable now. We 
are now in the Cactus plain, where 
immense stalks of that curious vege¬ 
table growth rise to the dignity of 
branchless trees, prickly and often 
grotesque. 

At a little station called Peach 
Springs, the road draws very near the 


NAVAJO CHURCH, NEAR FORT WINGATE. 


Hualpai reservation, and is within less than a score of miles of the Grand Canon of the Colorado; but, though short, the way is a difficult 
one, over parched sands and an eye-wearying desolation, until within four or five miles of the canon, when the approach to water is 


153 


















THE NEEDLES, ALONG THE RIO GRANDE. 




























THE OLD SPANISH PALACE, SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO. 



OLD CHURCH OF SAN MIGUEL, SANTA FE, N. M-, BUILT OF ADOBE IN 1550- 






































AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


156 



indicated by a gradual increase of vegetation, which, however, never becomes rank, even along the river-shore. A stage-line is now 
running from Flagstaff, which, though not so near as Peach Springs, offers a much easier route to the canon. The trip from Flagstaff is 
made in twelve hours, and, by comfortable stages, the traveler is taken to one of the most imposing points in the canon (Marble Canon), 
where the descent is sheer 6,000 feet, and a panorama is afforded of frightful chasm, curiously chaotic walls, strange formations, and moun¬ 
tains breaking one behind the other, like waves on the ocean, until sight fades into the perspective of distance. Here terror and sublimity, 
in a marvel of natural extremes, 
have formed perpetual alliance 
to excite amazement in the 
mind of every visitor. 

We cross the Colorado at 
Powell, where, to the south, are 
Red Rock buttes, and to the 
north are the Needles, the latter 
being hills that run up into 
sharp peaks, and then fall away 
to join a long stretch of plain. 

Black Mountains run parallel 
with the river on the north, 
near the foot of which, but on 
the river-shore, is a Mohave 
village, a settlement of that 
miserable remnant, who from 
a powerful people have degen¬ 
erated, through oppression and 
decimation, until they are 
scarcely a degree removed from 
the Digger Indians. The res¬ 
ervation proper of this tribe is, 
however, near the Navajoes, in 
the northeastern part of the 
territory. 

Crossing the Colorado, we 
strike the desert district of 
California, which extends 
through the counties of San 
Bernardino and Kern, a distance 

of nearly three hundred miles. Adjoining these two counties on the north is Inyo county, into which the Carson and Colorado Railroad 
extends southward as far as Owen’s Lake. This county is remarkable for embracing a region of extraordinary wonders, greater, indeed, 
in several respects, than any other district in the world. In the northern part is a marvelous depression, 159 feet below sea level, and 
nearly 150 miles in circumference, known as Death Valley. It is distinctively a volcanic region, in which, however, the fires are long since 


NATURAL BRIDGE, NEAR MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA. 








A CENTURY PLANT IN BLOOM, CALIFORNIA, 



A CACTUS FENCE, IN ARIZONA, 






















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


! 5 8 

burned out, leaving tbe desert a vast field of cinders, 
so parched that no drop of water exists within its 
borders, though rivers of lava ramify it in every 
direction. Many have perished in an effort to cross 
this fiery plain; and looking across it from the margin, 
the observer sees a shimmer in the air, as if a furnace 
were in active blast beneath. Here the temperature 
rises to 122 degrees, and the air hangs in a hot 
envelope, lazily swinging to and fro, rising and fall¬ 
ing in waves of heat, and making the sands blaze 
with an almost blinding light. Scorched, burned- 
out and furnace-like though the region be, it is, 
nevertheless, the abode of life, but no less curious 
than is the valley itself. The centipede, scorpion 
and horned-toad find here a congenial habitation; 
and, strange to say, a species of kangaroo-rat is pecu¬ 
liar to this cursed spot, burrowing in the hot sand 
and feeding on insects. 

Thunder-storms beat around the valley, but 
no drop of rain ever moistens its burning lips. The 
dryness of the air is such a preserver of dead bodies 
that decay is impossible, and the animals that die 
within its borders are mummified until they become 
like parchment. This cursed spot, sown as it is 
with dragon’s teeth, is not entirely without its attrac¬ 
tions, though they are as dangerous as were the soft, 
lute-like voices of the Sirens. It is the field of won¬ 
derful illusion, from which spring into the quivering 
air the most astounding and alluring mirages: rip¬ 
pling brooks, waving palms, floral meadows, ships 
under sail, banks of thyme, and travelers moving in 
procession across a landscape more beautiful than an 
oriental vision. 

Continuing our journey westward, we passed 
through a large arid district, in which dry lakes with 
beds white with soda, and shining in the blazing 
sun, were plentiful on both sides, but seeing no more 
interesting features until we arrived at Los Angeles. 
Here we found much to amuse, and often to instruct. 
It is an old town, settled by the Spaniards, in 1780, 



THE GREAT TELESCOPE, IN LICK OBSERVATORY. 















WITHIN THE JAWS OF GRAND CAfSON OF THE COLORADO. 
























i6o 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


and although now a beautiful city, it has not entirely put aside the garments of antiquity with which the ancient church fathers invested it. 
Many old adobe buildings still remain, and there are not wanting the ruins of quaint and curious monasteries, moss-covered, and with 
broken walls and dilapidated belfreys, in which the ghosts of long ago seem to have their haunt. 

The river, which washes the eastern limits of the city, is a sluggish stream, but it imparts refreshment to one of the most fertile 
valleys to be found anywhere in California. Here we find a succession of orange-groves and vineyards, bending low with golden and purple 
fruitage, while beyond the city’s skirts are orchards of walnut, olive and almond, from which profitable crops are annually gathered. 

San Diego, 147 miles 
south of Los Angeles, is another 
beautiful place, the center of a 
delightful region, but its inter¬ 
est lies very largely in the fact 
that it was at this place the first 
white settler in California 
pitched his tent, as early as 
1769. This great Spanish pio¬ 
neer, Father Junipero Serra by 
name, became the founder of 
twenty-one missions in Cali¬ 
fornia, some of which still 
remain in a fair state of preser¬ 
vation, but a majority exist as 
mere reminders of the olden 
time when the Franciscan friars 
dominated that portion of the 
Spanish territory. In this 
southern region the landscape 
is monotonous, and the air is 
usually hot, from which fact, no 
doubt, came the name “Cali¬ 
fornia,” which, in the Spanish, 
signifies “hot furnace,” and 
was bestowed by the discoverer, 
in 1534. 

Proceeding northward, 

the scenery becomes more varied and pleasing, for above Los Angeles a mountainous district is passed, with the San Bernardino and 
Sierra de San Rafael ranges on the right, and the Monica and Santa Inez ranges on the left. Still further north are the San Benito 
Mountains, paralleling the San Juan River, along whose magnificent valley the railroad runs until it reaches Castroville on the coast, just 
above Monterey. This latter place is one of very great attractiveness, not only for its historical associations, as the seat of Spanish Govern¬ 
ment in California until 1847, but also because it is the best specimen of the old-time adobe cities which now remains, as well as the location 
of one of the most exquisite gardens and charming hotels that is to be found either in or out of America. The Hotel del Monte is a building 






. upii m 








..... 








OUR STAGE-COACH CROSSING THE SANTA INEZ. 











MAGNOLIA AVENUE, RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA. 


u 


















162 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


of much beauty in itself, but the very large 
grounds which surround it have been culti¬ 
vated until, they are a veritable paradise of 
noble oaks, rich green lawns, and bewilder¬ 
ing flower-beds, dimpled with every hue that 
nature is capable of painting. The old town 
is a ghost of antiquity, the skeleton of a 
remote past, whose bony fingers point back¬ 
ward, as if beckoning beseechingly to the 
long ago. There is the mission house, 
rickety and tattered, raising its palsied head 
barely above the adobe walls which once 
served so well to defend it against enemies. 
But the wall, very thick though it was, has 
been badly breached by the catapults of 
time, and having done faithful guard-duty 
in the early days, it is now like the grave of 
a hero, which has become a shrine, to which 
many are drawn by curiosity as well as 
by respect. 

From Monterey northward the road 
runs through the incomparably beautiful 
and fertile Santa Clara Valley, a region where 
nature is always in good humor, and so fat 
that every time she laughs she shakes out a 
harvest. Towards the left spreads away a 
waving plain in richest cultivation, while on 
the right towers the Coast range of mount¬ 
ains, whose summits, bathed perpetually in 
a clear atmosphere, look in the distance like 
avastjidge of sapphires supporting the sky. 

At San Jose, a lovely city embowered 
with oaks, vines, roses and palms, the stage 
is taken for Mount Hamilton, upon the peak 
of which is located the Eick Observatory, 
enclosing the great Lick telescope. The 
road cost $80,000 to make; and though the 
ascent, which is begun fifteen miles from 
San Jose, is great, yet so admirably con¬ 
structed is the way that two horses easily 



THE GRIZZLY GIANT, MARIPOSA GROVE OF BIG TREES. 

















am 



A CACTUS GARDEN OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 



































AN OLD MISSION HOUSE, IN CALIFORNIA. 
























AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


164 


drag the stage to the summit. 
I never had a more delightful 
ride than this trip afforded, for 
while the air was bracing, the 
view was at all times indescriba- 
bly picturesque. At places 
where sharp turns are made, 
passengers can look out of the 
coach windows down into 
abysses which seem to be bot¬ 
tomless, and which never fail 
to elicit the question: “If a 
wheel should run off the edge, 
where would the passengers 
land ? ’ ’ 

The altitude of the observa¬ 
tory is 4,250 feet above the 
valley, and from this loft}’ point, 
it is claimed, with an appear¬ 
ance of truth, that a greater area 
is visible than from any other 
in the world. Not only is the 
whole of Santa Clara Valley 
viewable, but on very clear 
days the highest peaks of the 
Yosemite are discernible, and 
even Mount Shasta, 200 miles 
distant, can be distinguished. 
The telescope is a 36-inch re¬ 
flector, the largest ever made, and 
so massive that it is controlled 
by hydraulic power, which is 
most ingeniously applied, the 
adjustment being so perfect that 
its many tons of weight can be 
moved by a single finger. The 
public have free access to the 
observatory, but unfortunately, 
and very unwisely, visitors are 
not permitted to use the 



BRIDAL VEIL FALL, YOSEMITE. 









LICK OBSERVATORY, ON THE SUMMIT OF MOUNT HAMILTON, CALIFORNIA. 















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


166 


telescope except on Saturday nights. As favorable evenings are com¬ 
paratively few, this rule prevents a very great majority of persons from 
realizing what they have traveled thousands of miles to see, and much 
complaint against the astronomers in charge is accordingly made. 

From San Jose to San Francisco the distance is about fifty miles, 
through forests of redwood, past charming villas skirting San Francisco 
Bay, and many beauties peculiar to this perpetual summer land. The 
city is one of exceedingly great interest, possessing as it does features of 
a unique as well as of a magnificent character. Some of its best streets 
are reclamations from the bay, where, in 1849, the largest ships rode at 
anchor; and what were once bare mountains of sand were made accessible 
by the adoption of a cable system of street railroads, and on these peaks 
are now several of the finest residences in America. 

The Palace Hotel is the largest in the world, nine stories high, 
occupying 275 by 350 feet of ground, and cost, with furnishings, the 
enormous sum of $7,000,000. The public buildings, and many of the 
business blocks as well, attest the great wealth of the place, which flowed 
in with the gold discoveries. Lone Mountain, distinguished by a large 
wooden cross on its summit, affords a view which embraces not only the 
entire city and bay, but likewise of the ocean, Mount Diabolo and the 
long Coast Range that shimmers in the sun like polished metal. 

But the most delightful point of interest is the Cliff House, near 
the entrance to the Golden Gate, reached by a beautiful drive through 
Golden Gate Park, and also by cable and steam cars. The prospect from 
the hotel piazza, reaching far above and over the ocean, is both grand 
and charming. Immediately in front, and only three or four hundred 
yards away, three rocks rise out of the sea to a height of one hundred 
feet, and on these hundreds of sea-lions gather of sunny days to bask 
and display themselves before amused spectators. At times, their bark¬ 
ing is almost distracting, especially when some uglv-dispositioned pater 
familias of the great herd sets about clearing the rocks, when there 
follows a noise like ten thousand big dogs in conflict, and a scrambling, 
sprawling and tumbling that is wonderful as well as amusing. 

San Francisco is a center from which many interesting itineraries 
may be conveniently made, several of which we performed, with the 
particular view of photographing the most attractive features. Chief of 
these excursions is to the Yosemite Valley, which is 267 miles from San 
Francisco, the last sixty-seven miles being journeyed by stage. Leaving 
that city at 4 p. m., we reached Raymond at 6 a. m. the following day, 
at which point the stage is taken to Wawona, which is only six miles 



EL CAPITAN, 3,300 FEET HIGH, YOSEMITE. 








1 



GARDEN OF PALMS AT INDIO, NEAR SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA. 























AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


168 

from the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees. These 
giants of the primeval forest are in a Govern¬ 
ment reservation two miles square, and compose 
two distinct groves some half a mile apart. In 
the upper grove there are 365—one for each 
day in the year—trees, 154 of which exceed 
fifteen feet in diameter, and several are more 
than 300 feet in height. The largest, known 
as the Grizzly Giant, in the lower grove, is 
thirty-one feet in diameter, and the first limb 
which makes out from the trunk, 200 feet above 
the earth, is six feet in diameter. There is a 
prostrate tree in this grove which originally 
measured forty feet in diameter, and was 400 
feet in height. The body is hollow, and is 
large enough to admit three horsemen abreast 
a distance of seventy feet. 

A few miles beyond Wawona is a stage- 
station called Fresno, which is within the limits 
of another grove of mammoth trees, the largest 
of which is thirty-two feet in diameter at the 
butt, and there are probably 100 or more that 
measure as much as twenty feet through. Just 
beyond Fresno, we enter the far-famed and 
truly marvelous region of the Yosemite (which, 
in the Indian tongue, signifies a “grizzly 
bear”), that great heart of the Sierras which 
beats in mountain and breaks in waterfall. This 
wondrous valley, running along the western 
base of the Sierra Nevada range, is a compara¬ 
tively level area, but it lies fully 4,000 feet 
above sea level, and is nine miles long, by an 
average of one mile wide. The remarkable 
feature of this valley, aside from its special 
curiosities and mammoth configurations, is the 
fact that it is enclosed by granite walls of 
almost unbroken continuity, which present per¬ 
pendicular faces ranging from 3,000 to 6,000 
feet in height. The valley was discovered 
May 6, 1851, by the Mariposa battalion, in 



VERNAL FALLS AND LADY FRANKLIN ROCK, YOSEMITE. 













SEAL ROCKS AND CLIFF HOUSE AT THE GOLDEN GATE, SAN FRANCISCO. 















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


170 

command of Major James D. Savage, 
which had been sent against the 
Yosemite Indians, to punish them 
for outrages perpetrated against the 
miners in the counties of Mariposa, 
Fresno, Tuolumne and Inyo. Up to 
this time the valley was known to 
whites only through Indian tradi¬ 
tions, which represented the region 
as one of great beauty, but the abode 
of witches and evil spirits. Upon 
the discovery, however, it was found 
to be a place of refuge for the 
Indians; and within its boundaries, 
therefore, some desperate fighting 
took place between the California 
rangers and the Yosemite Indian 
marauders, in which there were 
heavy losses on both sides, and many 
acts of shocking cruelty. 

The stage-road leading from 
Wawona is particularly romantic and 
delightfully picturesque, with views 
of mountains, laughing streams and 
beflowered valleys, that break in 
pleasing variety upon the expectant 
vision of the visitor, and give inti¬ 
mation of the grander glories that 
lie beyond. After crossing Alder 
Creek, a beautiful stream that 
washes a pebbled bed, the route 
mounts Alder Hill, and rises rapidly 
until from its apex there is afforded 
an amazing sight, which never fails 
to throw the beholder into raptures. 
Northward, like a thread of silver 
running through a labyrinth of 
mountains, is the South Fork, while 
soiithward the same stream speeds 
away to join the Merced River, which 



GLACIER POINT, YOSEMITE. 







BIG TREES IN THE MARIPOSA FOREST, CALIFORNIA, 



AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


172 


dashes through a stupendous gorge aflame with 
colors. Descending Alder Hill on the east, by 
way of a tortuous route, we at last reach Merced 
Valley, beautiful as a poet’s inspiration, and cross¬ 
ing this low-lying strip of meadow land, climb 
another hill, where wonder compels us to pause 
upon its crest. Away yonder in the misty west, 
where the horizon drops down like a curtain on 
the world to hide the mysteries behind, are the 
dim outlines of the Coast Range, nearly 200 miles 
distant. But more bewildering sights are near at 
hand, for there to the left a little way are noisy 
cascades playing leap-frog over giant stones; Table 
Rock is close by, and El Capitan, that grizzled 
old captain of the Yosemite, exposes his shoulder, 
which seems to be a prop for the clouds. A few 
miles further and we reach Inspiration Point, 
where a glorious vision of Yosemite Valley and its 
Titanic walls break upon us with a startling 
suddenness, revealing a section of nature that is 
incomparably grand and awesomely magnificent. 
El Capitan forges upward 3,300 feet; the Three 
Brothers keep him company to a yet greater alti¬ 
tude, while in the background, frowzled, yet 
sublime, loom up against the cerulean sky the 
gray Cathedral Rocks, lying within the deep 
shadows of Sentinel Rock. Look around, for on 
every side appear evidences of mightiness, the 
awfulness of those powers which sometimes escape 
from internal reservoirs, or break away from the 
fastnesses where they were born; the btirsting of 
lava beds, the tearing down of glacier, the down¬ 
sweeping of avalanche, and the steady flow of 
gnawing waters. 

A trip through the Yosemite Valley is one 
of profound amazement, a succession of astounding 
surprises, where the most amazing prodigies of 
nature stand before you in review. Why, throw 
a glance up yonder, so far that though the atmos¬ 
phere is wondrously clear, yet the trees on the 



VERNAL FALLS, YOSEMITE. 










MIRROR LAKE, REFLECTING EL CAP1TAN, IN YOSEMITE PARK, CALIFORNIA, 


fi . w 

cjfe' 4 

ft* ■ 


(Pj,, ... v 

' M 

? P 

WW 1 • Jr y&E \ 

f Wp » 

pije?y i 





■ J.W 
























AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


I 74 

crest are not distinguishable, only a white ribbon 
that appears to have been flung down over the 
narrow edge of that appalling summit to attract 
attention. What we see is the first leap of 
Yosemite Falls, dashing through a notch that is 
nearly half a mile wide, and which has a fall from 
three ledges of 2,548 feet, or sixteen times greater 
than that of Niagara. There, not far away, is 
Glacier Point, which is 3,000 feet high, and from 
which a view of the entire valley can be had. 
Standing on that pinnacle, we gather in a glorious 
panorama of extraordinary splendor. The great 
domes of the Yosemite are plainly discernible; so 
is Liberty Cap, Clouds’ Rest, Vernal Falls, Nevada 
Falls, placid lakes, and the swift-rolling Merced 
River, that collects and bears away the waters that 
plunge down from a dozen dizzy heights. 

But besides these, as we turn to sweep the 
other points, we catch views no less grand, of 
Ribbon Fall, with its leap of 3,350 feet, Indian 
Canon, Royal Arches, Bridal Veil Fall, Washing¬ 
ton’s Tower, Columbia Rock, and pearl-gray 
granite walls that rise in places to a vertical height 
of 6,000 feet. More beautiful, in some respects, 
than any of these, as many believe, are Mirror 
Lake, which seems to reflect nearly the whole 
valley, and Cascade Falls, which are indescribably 
lovely. The meadows draw our admiration like¬ 
wise, for they are so covered with flowers as to 
appear like a carpet of the most gorgeous patterns, 
done in the liveliest combination of brilliant colors. 
Other points of great interest are the Giant’s 
Thumb, Eagle Peak, Valley Ford, the Gnome of 
the Yosemite, Mount Watkins, 4,000 feet high, 
and Tis-sa-ack (Half Dome), 5,000 feet in height, 
which was regarded by the Indians as the Guardian 
Angel of the valley, for upon the south side of it 
are the distinct outlines of a human face, declared 
in a legend to be those of Tu-tock-ah-nu-lah, 
ancient father of the Yosemites. And there are 



ILLILLOUETTE FALLS AND SOUTH DOME. 







UPPER CASCADE OF BRIDAL VEIL FALLS IN WINTER. 



SENTINEL ROCK WRAPPED IN A CLOUD 
















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



176 

tlie Three Brothers, called by the Indians Pom- 
pom-pa-sa, which signifies “three mountains playing 
leap-frog,” a name no doubt bestowed because of the 
popularity of that game with the original natives, 
and also because the mountains, from a distance, 
bear a strong resemblance to three giant frogs sitting 
side by side, upon the point of leaping into the 
valley, nearly 4,000 feet below. 

There are several great falls in this wonderful 
reservation, which, in point of beauty, exceed those 
in any other part of the world. Yosemite Falls is 
incomparably the greatest in height, and in the 
months of May, June and July, the volume of water 
which it pours down is second only to Niagara and 
Shoshone. Its first vertical leap is 1,500 feet, where 
it strikes a series of ledges which break the water 
into cascades for another fall of 626 feet, after which 
it takes a sheer plunge of 400 feet, and flows away 
into the Merced, making a roaring noise in its 
impetuous descent that can be heard for miles. 

Bridal Veil Fall is the termination of a creek 
bearing the same name, where it plunges over a 
precipice 900 feet high, and the stream is so thin 
that it becomes a very mist before reaching the 
valley. Directly opposite is Virgin Tears Creek, 
which likewise dashes over a lofty ledge through a 
notch in El Capitan, 1,000 feet high, and falls in a 
spray, though during a greater part of the year the 
creek is nearly dry. 

The first fall reached in ascending the canon 
of the Merced is Vernal Fall, which has a vertical 
height of 400 feet and a very considerable volume. 
But as we proceed further up the canon, passing a 
number of cascades, the eye suddenly catches what 
the ear has anticipated, and rapture succeeds expecta¬ 
tion, for there bursts into view Nevada Falls, which, 
as Professor Whitney says, “is in every respect one 
of the grandest waterfalls in the world, whether we 
consider its vertical height, the purity and volume 
of the river which forms it, or the stupendous scenery 


THE TURN, IN CH1LNUALNU FALLS, YOSEMITE. 












T 



THE YOSEMITE VALLEY, AS SEEN FROM ARTIST’S POINT. 


12 












AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



178 

by which it is environed. The fall is not quite perpendicular, as there is near the summit a ledge of rock which receives a portion of the 
water and throws it off with a peculiar twist, adding considerably to the general picturesque effect.” 

The fall is about 600 feet, the stream being clearly defined throughout its descent, and the volume of water is very great, giving to 
the falls the very ideal of beauty, power and truly extraordinary grandeur. In the Canon of the South Fork, there is another fall of equal 
height, and it is one, too, of much attractiveness, but brought into comparison with that of Nevada, of which it is a close brother, though 
difficult to reach, it appears so 
inconsequential as to scarcely 


•dqserve a name, though it is 


occasionally known as Illillo- 
uette Falls. 

But everywhere, up and 
down that magic valley, 
whether viewed from the gorges 
that have their bottoms in dark 
and mystic abysses, or from 
amazing heights of walls thrust 
far into the skies, there is 
wonder piled upon wonder, 
grandeur overtopping rapture, 
dumfounded admiration riding 
at furious pace in the lead of 
inspiration, glorious realization 
gilding the visions of imagina¬ 
tion. As the gifted Benjamin 
F. Taylor wrote of his visit to 
this wonderland: “ Yosemite 

awaited us without warning. 

Spectral white in the glancing 
of the sun, the first thought was 
that the granite ledges of all 
the mountains had come to res¬ 
urrection, and were standing 
pale and dumb before the Lord. 

I turned to it again, and began 
to see the towers, the domes, 
the spires, the battlements, the 

arches and the white clouds of solid granite, surging up into the air and come to everlasting anchor until the mountains shall be moved! 
You hasten on; you hear the winds intoning in the choral galleries a mile above your head; you hear the crash of waters as of cataracts in 
the sky; you trample upon broad shadows that have fallen thousands of feet down, like the cast-off garments of descending night.” 

Instead of returning direct to San Francisco, by way of the route we had taken to the Yosemite, we went northward, over a very 


AN INDIAN BURIAL ON THE PRAIRIE. 










HALF DOME AND CLOUDS’ REST, YOSEMITE VALLEY, 












i8o 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



good road, through Tuolumne and into Calaveras county, near the eastern edge of which is the very celebrated grove of giant trees. The 
grove is confined within a valley some 3,000 feet long by 800 feet wide, and embraces ninety-three mammoth trees, some of which are 
prostrate. The tallest now standing is 325 feet high, and measures fifteen feet in diameter. There are others which, though less lofty, 
exceed the tallest in girth measurement by as much as twenty feet in circumference, while the thickness of the bark on these grizzly giants 
is as much as eighteen inches. Five miles southeast of the Calaveras forest'is the Stanislaus Grove, of about 800 trees, which in any 
other country than California 
would be considered as veritable 
monsters for size; but they do 
not equal the better specimens 
in either the Calaveras or Mari¬ 
posa Groves, though several 
have a height of 250 feet, and 
a trunk circumference of 
thirty feet. 

Having inspected and 
photographed the groves, we 
proceeded to Murphy’s Hotel, 
sixteen miles from the Calaveras 
Grove, thence twenty-five miles 
by stage to Valley Springs, a 
station on a narrow-gauge rail¬ 
road that runs to Lodi, where 
connection is made for San 
Francisco. 

It was not possible, with¬ 
out occupying years of time, 
to make trips over all the 
picturesque rail-routes of 
America, and the transporta¬ 
tion of our material in a photo¬ 
graph car, which was in almost 
constant use, made it necessary 
that our three photographers 
travel together, except when it 
was desirable to cover in quick 
time short detours from main CAVE ROCK, LAKE TAHOE. 

lines. For this reason the overland trip from Denver was made by way of the southern route, without dividing our party; but to provide 
against what would otherwise have been a serious omission, the photographer of the Southern Pacific Railroad was brought into service to 
supply views of scenery along that road between Ogden and San Francisco, over which the writer has traveled so frequently as to be 
thoroughly familiar with all the points of interest. It was this route, formerly known as the Central Pacific, joining the Union Pacific at 









THE SENTINEL, IN YOSEMITE PARK. 














AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


1S2 



Ogden, that constituted the first all-rail overland road from Omaha to San Francisco, and it continues to hold rank as the most picturesque, 
though the scenery alternates with many dreary patches. 

After leaving Ogden, the Southern Pacific passes in a half-circle around the northern shores of Salt Lake, and then darts into the 
Nevada, or Great American Desert, a vast sea of alkali rippled with dry sage-brush; a furnace in summer and a Siberian tundra in winter. 
Nature has denied to this wretched region any compensation of flower, stream, bird, or even curiosity. It is the very nakedness of bleak deso¬ 
lation, and stretches its cursed 
length through a distance of 600 
miles. The Humboldt River has 
tried to force a way through this 
parched waste; but however 
great its volume of water, gath¬ 
ered from the mountains in 
spring freshets, the desert 
drinks it up at a place known as 
the Humboldt Sink, where the 
thirst of the sands is so great 
that the river is arrested and 
stands still in a shallow lake, 
the resort of myriads of water- 
fowls. 

But though the land is a 
wind-swept waste of alkali, 
scorched, denuded and cursed, 
yet men have planted their 
hopes even there, and are wrest¬ 
ling with the harshest and most 
unpromising disadvantages. 

Indian camps are frequent, and 
villages are occasional, where a 
few brave men, inured to all 
difficulties, scratch the parched 
earth and seek a precarious 
sustenance, though nearly all 
are traders, furnishing supplies 
to miners in the mountains 
miles away. 

The dreary, lifeless monotony is relieved, however, just before reaching Humboldt Lake, by the bold but rugged contour of sky¬ 
piercing pinnacles, which rise to the south of the road in curious forms and extraordinary magnitude, marking the line of Humboldt River. 
These interesting formations are known as the Humboldt Palisades, in which the Devil’s Peak is conspicuous, viewed from the car window. 
After so many hours passed in crossing a wretched desert, the scenery of meandering river and lofty bluffs is extremely invigorating, and 


_ 


CASCADE BRIDGE AND SNOW-SHEDS ON THE SIERRAS. 



















CATHEDRAL ROCKS, 2500 FEET HIGH, IN YOSEMITE PARK, CALIFORNIA. 




















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


184 


preparation to enjoy the sight is complete. But the palisades are singularly beautiful, viewed under any conditions, and situated near the 
edge of an alkali wilderness, as they are, they break upon the vision of a west-bound passenger with a delight that arouses rapture. 

At Wadsworth, Truckee Y alley is entered, green with the joy of exuberant nature, which we follow until Trnckee City, a gem of 
the Sierras, is gained, and realize that we have now to climb over the second ridge of the continent, the ragged ribs that flank the great 
water-slied of the three Americas. Truckee is not only a pretty village, nestling on the snowy bosom of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, but 
it is the center of a lake region, 



wherein abound some of the 
most remarkable bodies of water 
to be found on the globe. Four¬ 
teen miles towards the sonth is 
California’s favorite resort, Lake 
Tahoe, a really marvelous sheet 
of crystalline water that, from 
the mountain peaks which en¬ 
close it, looks like a colossal 
bend that through some disturb- 
ment has been rolled oiit of the 
sky and found lodgment in the 
great lap of the Sierras. The 
environs of the lake are won- 
drously grand, and the air a 
very enchantment, so great is 
its exhilaration. The lake is 
twenty-two miles long, ten 
miles wide, and 1,700 feet deep, 
while the surface is 0,247 feet 
above sea level, and it is, as 
Mark Twain eloquently de¬ 
scribes it, “a sea in the clouds; 
a sea that has character, and 
asserts it at times in solemn 
calms, and again in savage 
storms; a sea whose royal seclu¬ 
sion is guarded by a cordon of 
sentinel peaks that lift their 
frosty fronts 9,000 feet above 

the level world; a sea whose every aspect is impressive, whose belongings are beautiful, whose lonely majesty types the Deity.” Tahoe’s 
waters abound with tront and other fish, whose bodies flash the sunlight from a depth of thirty feet. The waters are so cold that decomposition 
is arrested below the surface. Many persons have been drowned in the lake, but not one has ever been recovered, when the accident occurred 
in deep water. So pellucid are its waters that a boat gliding along the surface appears to be passing through the air, and from the prows 


HEATHER LAKE AND MOUNTAIN SCENERY ABOUT LAKE TAHOE. 










M 



THE BROW OF EL CAP1TAN GIRDLED WITH CLOUDS, 






















CARRIAGE-ROAD THROUGH THE HEART OF MARIPOSA’S BIG TREE, 











ICE FORMATION AT FOOT OF BRIDAL VEIL FALLS 



NEVADA FALLS, YOSEMITE 






























AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


188 



of swift-moving crafts, sheets of clearest glass seem to be rolling away. Many beautiful cottages are built along the shore, the summer 
homes of wealthy Californians, and in season the lake is animate with boats and the beach alive with pleasure parties. 

A little way west of Truckee, and three miles from the road, is Donner Lake, a beautiful body, but chiefly famous for the tragic 
history which is connected with it. The story, in brief, is this: In the winter of 1846-47, a party of eiglity-two emigrants, while on their 
way to California, were overtaken by a snow-storm while encamped on the shore of the lake, and of the number thirty-six perished of 
starvation. A ghastly tale of ____ 


cannibalism is told of the sur¬ 
vivors, and the whole tragedy is 
embalmed in Bret Harte’s 
novel of “Gabriel Conroy.” 

Besides these two more cele¬ 
brated bodies of water near 
Truckee, there are Pyramid, 

Angeline, Silver, and Palisade 
lakes, all near by, and are more 
or less popular resorts, particu¬ 
larly with fishing parties. 

As we proceed up the 
Sierras the cold increases, until 
when the town of Summit is 
reached snow lies upon the 
ground throughout the year, 
and it is perpetual winter there, 

7,000 feet above the sea. The 
route is for many miles enclosed 
by snow-sheds, bi:t the snow¬ 
plow has plenty of work to do 
in keeping the intervals clear. 

Formerly this work was per¬ 
formed by three or four engines 
pushing a big machine, some¬ 
what resembling a shovel-board 
plow, through the heavy banks 
of snow, but it is now more 
speedily and effectively accom¬ 
plished by a rotary snow-plow, 

as shown in one of our illustrations. The machine is, in fact, a giant auger, which is run by steam supplied by the engines behind 
it, and being set in motion, rapidly bores its way through the drifts, throwing the snow at an angle of forty-five degrees, and with a force 
sufficient to deposit it fifty feet from the track. 

The road begins to descend rapidly after leaving Summit, but the most wonderful scenery in all California is passed in the next 150 


DONNER LAKE, NEAR TRUCKEE, CALIFORNIA. 















AGASSIZ COLUMN, YOSEMITE 


THE PASSAGE-WAY AROUND CAPE HORN 



























190 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


miles. Dormer's Peak comes into view as the first suggestion of a dreadfully tumultuous condition of nature, wrought by the great glaciers 
that in the early centuries came grinding their way over the mountains. There is Emigrant Gap, through which the first gold-seekers 
found their way into the Golden Valley, and American Canon, along the dizzy edge of which the train runs at a free and almost reckless pace. 
The way is broken with quarreling cascades, fast-dashing creeks and beautiful blue canons, in which an autumn haze perpetually lingers. 
Giant’s Gap, in the American Canon, is a vast rent in an opposing mountain, that looks like it might have been torn out by the hand of the 
Thunder God to make a way 
for the trolls. Chasm after 
chasm comes into view with 
grandeur and awfulness as a 
background until presently the 
train runs out on a ledge that 
appears to passengers inside the 
coaches to have no more sub¬ 
stantial support than a bank of 
clouds. We are away up high 
on the breast of a mountain that 
shoots upward 2,000 feet per¬ 
pendicularly, and looking out of 
the car windows there is noth¬ 
ing but clouds bowling along on 
the same level, and below for¬ 
ests of pine, stunted by distance, 
until the trees are no bigger 
than whisk-brooms, and Ameri¬ 
can River is a white thread not 
too large to run through the eye 
of a darning-needle. This is 
Cape Horn, where the ledge is 
so precipitous that in making 
the road-bed it was necessary 
to lower the first workmen by 
means of ropes, which were 
held fast at the summit while 
the suspended men plied their 
picks and crow-bars until a 
footing was made. 



SNOW SHOVELERS CUTTING A BLOCKADE ON THE SIERRA NEVADAS. 


After leaving Cape Horn, and passing many relics of early mining days: holes in the ground, decaying sluice-boxes, long flumes, 
tumble-down shanties, and a few hydraulic works, the road gains the Sacramento Valley, where the passengers are met by a burst of 
sunshine that makes the land laugh with plenty, and fills every heart with gladness. The air is fragrant with the almond and orange, and 
where husbandry has not covered the broad-spreading acres with grain or vineyards, there are flowers of a thousand hues, and butterflies of 









UPPER YOSEMITE FALLS IN WINTER. 



VIEW OF AMERICAN RIVER CANON, IN THE SIERRAS. 

















192 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


corresponding colors. The early emigrants from the East, who sought fortune on the Pacific slope after the gold discoveries of 1848-40, 
found a paradise in the fragrant and prolific valley of the Sacramento, which, beautiful at all times, was to them, after a journey of almost 
unbearable hardships across the burning sands of the American Desert, a region of incomparable delight. There is, indeed, no contrast in 
all nature so sudden and so great as that afforded between Nevada and California, the line of separation being the Sierras'. Out of the arid, 
plains, a very ocean of verdureless desolation, the road rises rapidly to altitudes of perpetual snow and into forests of pine that cover the 
sides of fearful precipices, the 
peaks of towering mountains 
and the jaws of yawning 
chasms; then it swoops down 
again into a land of perennial 
bloom, the antithesis of that of 
the eastern desert, where, in¬ 
stead of parching, the sun 
revivifies and forces into fruit¬ 
age orchards, vineyards, groves, 
gardens, and fields, making the 
land one of teeming plenty, 
and joyful with song of bird, 
flash of stream, gleam of golden 
grain, and resonant with the 
laughing chorus of exuberant 
nature. More fortunes have 
been won by aid of the hoe and 
sickle wielded in this charming 
valley than were ever gained by 
means of pick, flume and rocker 
on the harsh mountain sides, 
where the gold-seekers have 
toiled so hopefully for forty 
years, and in a great majority 
of cases spent their strength 
without reward. 

The first time that I crossed 
the Sierras was in early autumn, 
before the crisp air had begun 

to clip the leaves, and when A ROTARY SNOW-PLOW CUTTING THROUGH A BLOCKADE ON THE SIERRAS. 

Nevada appeared to be swept with a stifling atmosphere; hot, dusty and dreary was the pale sands, and the gray sage-brush was withered 
as by a simoom’s breath; I wondered why tourists, on pleasure bent, should make such a journey. Then out of the plain of dearth, and up 
the mountains we sped; suddenly, as it were, the atmosphere grew chill, flakes of snow began to descend; the way led out of hot summer 
into severe winter, and the landscape became a picture of tumult, mighty, wonderful and picturesque. Then we rolled down the Sierras 
into a land of indescribable beauty, into a garden as lovely as that of Hesperides—and the answer was plain. 













CHAPTER VII. 

OUR JOURNEY THROUGH PICTURESQUE REGIONS OF THE NORTHWEST. 

INTER had been spent in the vernal climate of New Mexico, Arizona and California, and we had so nicely calculated our work 
that when April arrived we were ready for explorations in northern fields. Accordingly, early in that month, we took our 
departure from San Francisco, over the California and Oregon Railroad (property of the Southern Pacific), to photograph the 
natural wonders of the extreme northwest. The road which we had thus selected is one of the most charmingly picturesque in 
America, abounding as it does with an infinite variety of beautiful valleys, leaping cascades, roaring waterfalls, snow-capped 

mountains, and abvssmal canons 
that are wrapped in eternal 
darkness. 

After leaving Sacramento, 
the route follows the Sacra¬ 
mento Valley, through a mar¬ 
velously fertile district, cleft 
by an exquisite stream that 
bellows, gushes, gurgles and 
rambles in a devious way from 
summerless peaks, through 
blossoming vales, and down 
mellow meadows, until it drops 
into the arms of the sea. 

Beyond Chico, northward, 
the scenery becomes rapidly 
more rugged, until we plunge 
into the Siskiyou range, and 
apparently become tangled up, 
so tortuous is the way. Time 
and again the road overlaps 
itself in winding up the steeps, 
leaps across yawning chasms 
on lofty steel bridges, and 
dashes into tunnels that for a 
while appear to lead directly to 
the center of the under-world. 
But on every side, where day¬ 
light reveals the turbulent land- 

HIGH SIERRAS ANE SUSIE LAKE, AN ARM OF LAKE TAHOE. scape, there is much to excite 



193 


13 














UPPER CASCADE OF CHILNUALNU FALLS, YOSEMITE. 


















NAJAQUI FALLS, GAVIOTA PASS, CALIFORNIA. 


















196 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



wonder and to lend surprise. A hundred miles before we come abreast of Mount Shasta, the sunlighted head of that mammoth peak glints 
and glistens with a weirdly grand effect upon the admiring eyes of approaching travelers. There it stands, apparently shifting from one 
side of the track to the other as we wind around among the gorges and creep up the slopes, but always a chief among mountains and 
commander among the clouds. Sissons is the nearest station to the giant peak, and here we stopped to make some photographs and gather 
information. The base of Shasta is exceedingly broad, covering as it does a circumference of seventy-five miles, and its hoary head is lifted 
up 11,000 feet above the sur¬ 
face, and 14,450 above the sea. 

The greatest wonder, however, 
is not in the mountain’s height 
or size, but in the fact that it is 
an extinct volcano, whose crater 
is nearly one mile in diameter 
and 1,500 feet deep. On one 
side there is a rift, resembling a 
broken piece from the rim of a 
bowl, through which the sea of 
lava that boiled and seethed in 
this devil’s caldron many cen¬ 
turies ago, evidently broke and 
poured a burning flood into the 
valley, and overflowed a large 
district of country. This may 
have been done in one of its ex¬ 
piring throes, for certainly there 
are no evidences that the vol¬ 
cano has been in activity within 
the past five hundred years. 

“There is a cold gray 
light upon this mountain in 
winter mornings, that even to 
look upon, sends a chill to the 
very marrow, especially if the 
snow-banner be flying; yet, per¬ 
haps at evening tide, when 

twilight shadows have darkened INTERIOR OF SNOW SHED, SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS, 

the valley below, this vast 

pyramid of hoar frost and storm-swept ridges is transformed into a great beacon light of glory, where the warm mellow light loves to linger; 
where the richest halos of gold and crimson encircle it with their loving bands; where the last and best treasures of the declining sun are 
poured out in a wondrous profusion, until it is driven by the night lavenders and grays beyond the horizon; then, the tranquil light of the 
stars sends shining avenues of silver down its furrowed, hoary slopes; soon there comes out from behind the night, first a faint flash of radiant 














VIEW OF MT. SHASTA FROM SISSONS, CALIFORNIA 














AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


198 



silver that gleams across the sky and dims the light of the stars, the higher peaks are aflame with St. Elmo fire, and slowly from spire to 
spire, and from ridge to ridge, this incandescent flood sweeps on until the whole mountain glows and gleams with a light supernatural.” 

Another particularly wonderful natural attraction on the line of this road are the Chalybeate Soda Springs, which furnish an 
unfailing supply of mineral water, equal to the best that is bottled for the bar and picnic trade. When taken fresh from the spring, it has 
the appearance of champagne, which, indeed, it resembles in taste; and so strongly charged is the water with carbonic acid gas, that it will 
hold its flavor as long as any 
extra-dry wine. 

Near these remarkable 
springs are the Mossbrae Falls, 
which come sliding over the 
lofty banks of the Sacramento 
in sheets of limpid water that 
look like glass, and have a 
spread of nearly half a mile. 

The fall varies in height from 
fifty to one hundred feet, but 
is surprisingly beautiful at 
every point. 

After crossing Siskiyou 
Mountains, the road descends 
by a spiral way until it strikes 
Rogue Valley, thence through 
Grant’s Pass and gains the 
Willamette Valley, which is a 
level expanse of exceedingly 
great fertility. The ride to 
Portland over the rest of the 
way is interesting, not so much 
for the diversity of scenery, as 
for the scenes of thrift and pros¬ 
perity which lie on both sides, 
for the country is a very Eden 
of productiveness. 

Portland, which lies near 
the junction of the Columbia 
with the Willamette River, is 

one of the handsomest cities on earth, situated in one of the most attractive regions that the eye of the traveler ever gazed upon. From a 
high point in the western suburbs, gained by a cable-road, a view may be had greater than that which Ouarantaria offers. To the west 
broadens the united waters of the two rivers, floating the commerce of this vigorous city to and from the sea. And in the clear atmosphere 
to the east rise like giants out of a plain the lefty peaks of Hood, St. Helen’s, Adam’s and Ranier, upon whose brows eternal snows beat 


SACRAMENTO CANON, CALIFORNIA. 



















MOSSBRAE FALLS, ALONG THE SACRAMENTO. 





















200 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



with fury, and where clouds often settle to rest themselves for a fresh flight. Still beyond are the whitened crests of the Cascade range, 
reveling in a mad confusion of effort to gain the skies; and wandering through a maze of forest, mountain and gorge, are the Columbia and 
Willamette, like two long ribbons of burnished silver flung down by the gods to mark a way to wealth. 

The Willamette River is particularly beautiful in its upper course, where the scenery is almost a counterpart of that along the 
Rhine, whereas the Columbia becomes charmingly interesting almost from its mouth, and increases in grandeur as the ascent is made. 
Indeed, it may with truth be 
declared that scenically consid¬ 
ered, the Columbia is the most 
delightful river that is known 
to modern geographers. The 
shores are mountainous, at times 
shooting up perpendicularly to 
amazing heights, and compos¬ 
ing miles of solid walls; then 
again dropping away in level 
stretches covered with forests 
of pine, spruce and fir-trees; or 
revealing canons down which 
plunge turbulent tributaries, 
and giddy waterfalls dancing 
out of the sky and falling in 
fleecy sheets so far as to dis¬ 
solve its vapor. Some of the 
shore walls are of basalt, of fan¬ 
tastic shapes and brilliant with 
coloring; and not infrequently 
solitary columns of very great 
height are seen standing like 
sentinels along the water edge, 
such as Castle Rock, Rooster 
Rock, and the columnar cliffs 
of Cape Horn. 

The Dalles of the Colum¬ 
bia are as famous as the pali¬ 
sades of the Hudson, while in fact 
they are much more wonderful, 

and well worth a trip of thousands of miles to see. They occupy about fifteen miles of the river between Celilo and Dalles Station, and 
are only 130 feet wide, whereas above and below, the bed of the stream is from 2,000 to 2,500 feet wide. As the river is swollen to 
extraordinary proportions by rain freshets and the melting of snow in the spring-time, it is not a remarkable thing that during such flood 
periods the water rises suddenly in this narrow cleft as much as sixty, and even seventy feet. The river itself very commonly rises as much 


SODA SPRINGS, SACRAMENTO CANON. 





STRAWNAHAN’S FALLS, ON SIDE OF MOUNT HOOD. 



MULT1NOMAH FALLS, OREGON 
























202 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



as twenty-five feet, even at its widest places, and hence we may imagine what a raging torrent it becomes; but at low-water the Dalles are 
a succession of cascades of the most beautiful proportions, rolling in sheets of clearest water, over terraces of stone as regular as though they 
had been laid by the hand of a mason. 

From the Dalles down, the river plows its way through the Cascade Mountains, which on either side appear like towered battle¬ 
ments, while waterfall after waterfall pour their tribute down the mountain sides to swell the on-flowing stream. Twelve miles below is 
Memaloose Island, which is the ancient burial place of the Chinook Indians, who held it as a sacred spot, guarded, as they maintained, by 
spirits of the river. The gorge proper begins twenty miles below the Dalles, and thirty miles further are the cascades, but between these 
there is an incomparable pano¬ 
rama of grandeur and beauty, 
for the river is broken by many 
giant bowlders, around which 
the swift-rushing water is lashed 
into fury. Still further below, 
and around the next interval of 
six miles, where portage by rail 
is necessary, the scenery 
becomes even more exquisite, 
with islands that are so wind¬ 
swept as to be entirely devoid 
of vegetation, while scores of 
lovely falls line the river, such 
as Horse-Tail, a clearly defined 
stream that pours down a height 
of 200 feet, and Multinomah, a 
strip, or veil, of spray, that falls 
850 feet perpendicularly. There 
are, besides these, others almost 
equally surprising and beauti¬ 
ful, such as Bridal Veil and 
Oneonta, both of which dash 
down over cliffs brilliantly 
green with mosses, and are 

a a , . . WILLAMETTE FALLS, OREGON, 

reflected in their full length in 

the crystalline river into which they fall, while the soft coloring of bluest sky and blending tints of emerald pines give to the scene an 
intimation of fairy-land. Just below these, in stately procession, are Castle Rock, that shoots up 1,000 feet; Rooster Rock, a dizzy pinnacle 
of stone amid-stream; Cape Horn, frowning from shore, and lifting its brow 500 feet above the river, while the Pillars of Hercules, twin 
shafts of basalt, grand, massive and sublime, act as guardians before this watery realm of wonderland. 

Twenty-five miles from the palisades, and reached by means of comfortable stages over a good road, is Mount Hood, one of the 
loftiest, as well as the most impressive, dead volcanoes to be found anywhere in the world, of which it has been written: “The view from 
the summit of Hood is one of unsurpassed grandeur, and probably includes in its range a greater number of high peaks and vast mountain 








DELLS OF THE COLUMBIA, AND MOUNT HOOD IN THE DISTANCE 















204 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



chains, grand forests and mighty rivers, than any other mountain in North America. Looking across the Columbia, the ghostly pyramids 
of Adams and St. Helen, with their connecting ridges of eternal snow, first catch the eye; then comes the silent, lofty Ranier, with the 
blue waters of Puget Sound and the rugged Olympia Mountains for a background; and away to the extreme north (nearly to H. B. M.’s 
dominions), veiled in earth mists and scarcely discernible from the towering cumuli that inswathe it, lies Mount Baker. Looking south 
over Oregon, the 


view embraces 
the Three Sis¬ 
ters (all at one 
time), Jefferson, 
Diamond Peak, 
Scott, Pit, and, 
if it be a favora¬ 
ble day, and you 
have a good 
glass, you may 
see Shasta, 250 
miles away. The 
westward view is 
down over the 
lower coast 
range, the Ump¬ 
qua, Calapooya, 
and Rogue River 
Mountains, with 
their sunny up¬ 
land valleys, and 
away out over 
the restless 
ocean. In the 
opposite direc¬ 
tion, across the 
illimitable plains 
of Eastern Ore¬ 
gon, to the Azure 
Blue Mountains; 
down, almost to 
the foot of this 




NATURAL PILLARS, COLUMBIA RIVER. 


mountain, ‘ rolls the Columbia,’ through the narrow, rugged gorge of ‘The Dalles,’ 250 miles of its winding course being visible. The 
entire length of the great Willamette Valley, with its pleasant, prosperous towns and gently-flowing river, its broad, fertile farms, like rich 
mosaics, with borders of dark-green woodlands, is spread out in great beauty under the western slope of Mount Hood.” 










THE CRATER OF MOUNT HOOD. 



ON THE ROUTE TO CRATER LAKE. 
















206 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


The Columbia is not only famed for its peerless scenery, 
and as being a main artery in Pacific coast commerce, but it is 
equally noted as affording the most profitable salmon fishing in 
the world. Hundreds of people are engaged in this industry, 
and vast wealth has been amassed by some of the large com¬ 
panies who run immense canneries in connection with the 
fisheries. At certain seasons the fish appear in such prodigious 
numbers, on their way up stream to the spawning grounds, 
that they almost crowd each other out of the water. The most 
successful way of taking the fish at such times is by the use of 
wheels attached to the end of a scow, which, being set in 
motion, scoop them up and deposit them in the boat, and so 
rapidly that thousands are thus taken in an hour. The fish 
continue their run up-stream as far as the water will allow, and 
so determined are they that they perform many amazing feats 
to gain the headwaters, crossing shoals, darting through the 
swiftest cascades, aud even leaping up and over falls of consid¬ 
erable height. The Indians, familiar with the instincts of the 
salmon, in the season take great numbers by means of spears, 
which they cast with astonishing accuracy. A chief fishing 
place is Salmon Falls, where the river is a mile wide and 
plunges over a wall fully twenty feet high, extending from 
shore to shore. Notwithstanding this height, the salmon 
gather in the whirlpool below and suddenly dart up the falls 
like a flash of light, their tails waving with such rapidity that 
they are carried up and over the falls. It is while making 
these leaps that the Indians spear the fish, killing immense 
numbers, not only for food, but through sheer wantonness, at 
times fairly filling the river with the dead beauties. 

A SIDE-TRIP TO CRATER LAKE. 

Before leaving San Francisco, one of our photographers 
expressed a very great desire to visit Crater Lake, one of the 
most remarkable bodies of water on the face of the earth, and 
so urgent were his pleadings, that it was decided he should 
make the trip, while the rest of the party continued on to 
Portland, to perform the work of photographing points of 
interest thereabouts, and on the Columbia River. In pursu¬ 
ance of this arrangement, he left ns at a station called Medford, 
on the Southern Pacific Railroad, and from that place rode 



ONEONTA GORGE, COLUMBIA RIVER. 











mm. 






ROOSTER ROCK, COLUMBIA RIVER. 

























208 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 

over to Jacksonville, capital of Jackson county, Oregon, a distance of five miles, to make his preparations for a journey to the lake. 
Jacksonville is a town of about 1,000 inhabitants, off the railroad, but on the military road that leads to Crater Lake, some seventy miles 
distant northeast, and thence to Fort Klamath. It was not difficult to procure necessary conveyance, but for safety it was deemed advisable 
to pack the cameras on a donkey, probably the surest-footed and most reliable animal that ever submitted back to a burden. Three men 
accompanied our photographer, with one road-wagon and a light buggy, hauling the necessary camping outfit, and being well prepared, 
the party started from Jacksonville on the 15th of April, 1891. The road follows Rogue River the entire distance, along which is some 
very beautiful scenery, and not 
a few wild gorges, which were 
photographed. There are a 
number of post-offices on the 
way, Deskins being the most 
northern, beyond which, and 
for nearly thirty miles, to the 
lake, there is a wildernsss of 
mountain and canon, unrelieved 
by any signs of human habita¬ 
tion. Crater Lake is in the 
western part of Klamath 
county, and is in the Klamath 
Indian reservation, a region 
that is distinctively volcanic, 
diversified by lakes, marshes 
and mountains, with the soil so 
mixed with scoriae that it is 
harsh and unproductive. It 
was not until noon of the sec¬ 
ond day that the vicinity of the 
lake was reached, approach to 
it being indicated by a bank of 
clouds that hung over one spot, 
like a fog gradually lifting, 
beneath which was manifestly 
a large body of water. A suita¬ 
ble camping place was soon 

found, and the tent being set up and dinner disposed of, the work of exploring and photographing the lake was energetically begun. 
Fortunately, the weather was propitious and the season favorable, for otherwise clambering over so rough a region with the precious burden 
of delicate cameras would have been next to impossible. The snow falls to very great depths on the high ridge which surrounds the lake, 
and spring rains are at times so heavy here that the precipitous sides are gashed deeply by the cataracts thus produced. 

The Klamath Indians have many traditions about the lake, one of which is to the effect that in earlier years it was the haunt of 
great numbers of water-devils, who watched its shores and drew into its mysterious depths all luckless persons who ventured near its banks. 



CASCADES OF THE COLUMBIA. 





















VIEW OF CRATER LAKE AND WIZARD ISLAND 














210 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


For this reason it was not until recently that any Indian could be prevailed upon, by the promise of however great a reward, to approach 
near the lake, though they were glad to guide travelers to its vicinity. 

The first sight of this marvelous body of water excites unbounded awe and immeasurable wonder. The surface is (1,250 feet above 
sea level, but notwithstanding this great elevation, it is enclosed by cliffs that rise from 1,000 to 2,000 feet, and the greater part are 
vertical. At times, viewed from the summit of the walls, both the skies and mountainous surroundings are mirrored in the unrippled 
surface of the lake, until it is really difficult to distinguish the line of separation between the real and the reflection. 

Crater Lake is egg-shaped, being seven miles in length by six in breadth, and in the southwest portion there is an island which rises 
out of the water to the amaz¬ 
ing height of 850 feet. But 
this is not its only remarkable 
feature, for the island is circu¬ 
lar in shape, with a scant 
vegetation on its sides, and in 
the center is a crater known as 
the Witch’s Caldron, which is 
100 feet deep and nearly 500 
feet in circumference. Here, 
then, we have the now smoke¬ 
less chimney of what was once 
an active volcano, out of which 
poured a fiery mass that ran 
down the steeps and became 
congealed in the lake, for the 
base of the island is of ashes 
and vitrified rocks, evidencing 
the intense heat which once 
prevailed within and around it. 

On the shore, north of 
Wizard Island, is a rock that 
juts up 2,000 feet, and its side 
is so perpendicular that one 
standing upon its summit can 
drop a stone into the lake, 
nearly half a mile beneath. It 


♦ •: 






* 






AMONG THE CLOUDS ON MOUNT HOOD. 


is not at all surprising that this wonderful lake should be the subject of much superstitious dread among the Klamatlis, and among the 
traditions and tales which these simple Indians tell is the following: A long time ago, a band of Klamatlis, while hunting deer, which 
have always been abundant in this region, came suddenly upon the lake. They had often traveled over the same district, without 
discovering either lake or depression, and now, suddenly beholding so large a body of water, surrounded by towering walls, they perceived 
in it the work of the Great Spirit, but were not able to interpret its significance. All but one of the Indians fled in terror from the place, 
but the bravest determined, if possible, to ascertain the wishes of the Great Spirit, and, accordingly, he proceeded to the very brink of the 








SCENE ON COLUMBIA RIVER. 



CLIFFS AROUND CRATER LAKE. 

































212 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


lofty walls, and there built a camp-fire, to wait the Spirit’s 
call. Long he waited, until weary at last he lay down and 
slept; while he was thus sleeping he had a vision and heard 
mysterious voices, but he was not able to understand what 
was said, or to clearly discern the shape or appearance of 
his unearthly visitors. But as often as he slept he perceived } 
in his dreams, the indistinct forms of what half-appeared to 
resemble human bodies, and plainly heard voices, but they 
were strange tongues. Charmed by these visions, the Indian 
remained, day after day, and week after week, upon the preci¬ 
pice of the, lake, leaving his camp-fire only to slay a deer for 
subsistence, until at length he descended to the surface of the 
lake and bathed in its crystal and mysterious waters. Instantly 
he felt his strength marvelously increased, and thereafter saw 
that the weird visions of his dreams were inhabitants of the 
lake, having human forms, but whether they were spirits of 
good, or devils of evil, he knew not. Familiarity, however, at 
length made him careless, and on one occasion he caught a fish 
in the lake, with the intention of using its flesh for food, but 
no sooner had he killed the fish than a thousand water-devils 

rose np out of 
the depths of 
the lake, and, 
seizing the un¬ 
fortunate brave 
.carried him 
through the air 
to the top of 
the cliffs. Here 
they cut his 
throat and cast 
his body head¬ 
long into the 
water, 2,000 
feet below, 
where it was de¬ 
voured by the 
angered devils. 

The Kla¬ 
math Indians 




GROTTO IN CRATER LAKE. 


PALISADES OF THE COLUMBIA. 























THE GREAT GLACIER, CANADIAN PACIFIC 










214 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



believed that the water-spirits had not fully satisfied their revenge by this one bloody act, but would similarly destroy any Indian who had 
the temerity to approach the lake. 

Near the base of a cliff on the south side of the lake stands a solitary rock, probably 100 feet high by 200 in length, and nearly the 
same in breadth, that, while not seen by the present generation of Indians, it is nevertheless known to them, and is a special object of 
superstitious dread. 

They consider it as a 
peculiarly ferocious 
monster, but are unable 
to describe its character¬ 
istics. It stands in the 
lake, entirely alone, and 
about fifty yards from 
shore. Standing on the 
cliffs, about five miles 
to the west and looking 
across the lake, this 
strange rock is plainly 
visible in the sunlight, 
its rugged peaks reach¬ 
ing aloft, giving it the 
appearance of a full- 
rigged ship at anchor. 

Should a cloud pass 
before the sun as the 
shadow strikes the rock 
it will recede from view 
as effectually as though 
it had ceased to exist. 

This illusion has 
prompted some one to 
call the rock the Phan¬ 
tom Ship. 

Another equally 
interesting optical illu¬ 
sion is thus described bv 


W G Steel F A. G S* A F1SH - WHEEL ON COLUMBIA RIVER. 

who made an exploration of the lake with a corps of United States surveyors: “ One day while at work on the lake, my attention was called 
to what seemed to be a tall, full-bearded man standing on the southern portion of Liao Rock’s summit. One foot was placed a little forward 
of the other and the knee slightly, but naturally bent, while before him stood a gun. His hands were clasped over the muzzle as he gazed 
intently to the north. Just behind him stood a boy, apparently about fifteen years of age. They seemed entirely too natural not to be flesh 














GREEK CHURCH AT JUNEAU, ALASKA 












2l6 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


and blood, and yet persons at that distance would not be visible to the naked eye, as we were two miles out on the lake. Day after day, as 
our work progressed, their position remained the same, and in the absence of a better excuse, we decided them to be trees. 

“It is hard to comprehend what an immense affair it is. To those living in New York City I would say, Crater Lake is large 
enough to have Manhattan, Randell’s, Ward’s and Blackwell’s Islands dropped into it side by side, without touching the walls, or Chicago 
or Washington City might do the same. Our own fair city of Portland, with all her suburbs, from City Park to Mount Tabor, and from 
Albina to Sellwood inclusive, could find ample room on the bottom of the lake. On the other hand, if it were possible to place the lake, 
at its present elevation, above either of these cities, it would be over a mile up to the surface of the water, and a mile and three-quarters to 
the top of Liao Rock. Of this dis¬ 
tance, the ascent would be through 
water for 2,000 feet. To those living 
in New Hampshire, it might be said 
the surface of the water is twenty-three 
feet higher than the summit of Mount 
Washington.’’ 

The shore of Crater Lake has 
many remarkable indentations of 
slender arms and beautifully formed 
bays, and on one side there is a grotto 
running back some thirty feet and 
twenty feet inside, spanned by a grace¬ 
ful arch about eight feet high, form¬ 
ing an admirable shelter as well as a 
curious alcove in the rock, where the 
water is some twelve feet deep. The 
lake itself measures a little more than 
2,000 feet in depth in places, but 
soundings show that there are peaks 
below the surface representing cinder 
cones, and which once evidently stood 
high above the surface. The whole 
lake is thus a reminder of mighty 
forces and the relic of terrible con¬ 
vulsions. What an immense affair it SUMM1T OF MOUNT SA,NT HELENS : ABOVE THE CLOUDS - 

must have been ages upon ages ago, when, long before the hot breath of a volcano soiled its hoary head, standing as a proud monarch, 
with its feet upon the earth and its head in the heavens, it towered far, far above the mountain ranges, aye, looked far down upon the 
snowy peaks of Hood and Shasta, and snuffed the air beyond the reach of Everest. Then streams of fire began to shoot forth, great seas of 
lava were hurled upon the earth beneath. The elements seemed bent upon establishing hell upon earth and fixing its throne upon this 
great mountain. At last its foundation gave away and it sank forever from sight. Down, down, down deep into the bowels of the earth, 
leaving a great, black, smoking chasm, which succeeding ages filled with pure, fresh water, giving to our day and generation one of the 
most beautiful lakes within the knowledge of man. 








CREVASSE IN MUIR GLACIER, ALASKA. 








2lS 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



It may in truth be declared that Crater Lake is one of the grandest points of interest on earth. Here all the ingenuity of nature 
seems to have been exerted to the fullest capacity to build one grand, awe-inspiring temple within which to live and from which to gaze 
upon the surrounding world and say: “Here would I dwell and live forever. Here would I make my home from choice; the universe is 
my kingdom, and this my throne.” 

AWAY TO THE NORTH, AND THENCE TO ALASKA. 

Our trip up the Columbia, and along the Willamette as far as Willamette Falls, was delightful beyond any one’s ability to describe; 

but though wonder succeeded p—------ 1 

wonder, and kept us as under 
a spell of enchantment, there 
were other surprises in store 
which were to hold our interest 
and even add something to our 
astonishment. Returning to 
Portland, we might have 
carried out our original resolu¬ 
tion to take the steamer at 
that point direct for Alaska, 
but we very wisely made a 
change in our plans, by which 
we proceeded by rail to Van¬ 
couver, stopping en route, 
however, to continue our work 
of photographing mountains, 
valleys and glaciers. 

Tacoma was our first 
stop after leaving Portland, 
and a very beautiful city it is, 
admirably and commercially 
situated at the head of naviga¬ 
tion in Puget’s Sound. Mount 
Tacoma appears to be in the 
very front-yard of the city, so 
wonderfully clear is the air, 
though in fact it is a hundred 
miles away. The Sound is 

v , N,.. • , CATHEDRAL ROCK, ON COLUMBIA RIVER, 

astir with the white wings of 

sailing vessels, and streaked with the black trails of ocean-going steamers, while the blue waters are begirt with the dark green of heavy 
forests, making a picture of almost incomparable beauty. There is romance in the very air, a kind of dreamy vision of the long ago, when 
this was the happy land of the Siwashes, who come before us again in the pretty legends which linger still upon the lips of this almost 
extinct tribe. They tell us of a Saviour who once came to them, riding in a copper canoe, out of the bleak desolation of the icy north, and 











INDIAN BURIAL HOUSES NEAR THE TOWN OF JUNEAU, ALASKA. 













































2 20 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


who, first calling all the tribes together, preached to them the gospel of unselfish service and righteousness. He taught them the beatitudes, 
and was first to declare that man was possessed of an undying spirit, which lived forever, in pleasure or pain, according to the measure of 
his deserving. The Indians listened with reverent attention until this Saviour exhorted them to live in brotherly unity, one with another, 
and to avoid all strife, for he who shed human blood would feel the vengeance of the Great Spirit. This teaching so incensed the war-like 
tribes that they seized the Saviour and nailed his body to a tree, where it remained nine days. Then behold, there came a great storm of 
hail, accompanied by thunders 
that rent the earth and leveled 
the forests. In the midst of 
this mighty cataclysm of natural 
forces the Saviour appeared 
again, resurrected unto full life, 
and speaking to the winds and 
the thunders, in an instant the 
storm was hushed, and a great 
peace and burst of sunshine 
bathed the earth. After this 
the reincarnated Saviour 
renewed his preaching and con¬ 
tinued to teach immortality for 
many weeks, until at last he 
ascended to the skies in a cloud. 

These same Indians have 
also a tradition of the deluge, 
which bears a striking simi¬ 
larity to the Genetic account. 

They assert that many thou¬ 
sands of years ago a great rain 
fell upon the earth, such as was 
never before or since known; 
that such torrents of water were 
poured out of the sky that the 
world became a universal sea, 
with no spot of dry land any¬ 
where visible. In this all-pre¬ 
vailing flood every human being 

perished except one man who took refuge on Mount Tacoma. As the water rose, he was driven higher and higher, until at last he reached 
the summit; but still the sea advanced; it covered the loftiest point of the mountain, then rose above his feet, his knees, and finally reached 
to his waist, when, to prevent him from being swept away, the Great Spirit turned his feet to stone, and he thus became anchored on the 
peak. Then the rain ceased, and the waters were gradually assuaged, but the man could not yet move from his position. At last the waters 
were again within their beds, the fields bloomed, the forests put forth with new life, and the world became musical with song of bird and 


BRINK OF SNOQUALMIE FALLS, OREGON. 






THE GREAT GLACIER, SIDE VIEW, SHOWING GRINDING OF THE MOUNTAIN FACE. 

J 



















222 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


the lullabies of flowing streams. 
Then a profound sleep fell upon the 
man, and while he slept the Great 
Spirit took a rib from his side, and 
from it made a beautiful woman. 
When he woke his feet were no 
longer stone, but strong with vigor, 
and at once he started down the 
mountain; but scarcely had he taken 
the first step when he saw before 
him the lovely woman who was given 
to him for wife. The Great Spirit 
now directed the couple to the foot 
of Tacoma, where he had planted a 
garden, and in this paradise he com¬ 
manded them to abide and replenish 
the world. 

It is probable that these legends 
are the relics of the teachings of mis¬ 
sion fathers who came to this region 
more than two hundred years ago. 

From Tacoma we went to Seattle, 
another exquisite city of marvelous 
growth and immense possibilities, 
which occupies a strip of land be¬ 
tween Puget Sound and Lake Wash¬ 
ington; it has a very large water 
front, and exhibits a harbor as active 
with shipping as San Francisco. 
From Seattle, where we left our 
photograph car, we went to Port 
Townsend, and thence across the 
Straits of Juan de Fuca to Victoria, 
on Vancouver Island, where we first 
touched the soil of British Columbia. 
This city is also a very beautiful one, 
and from the summit of Beacon Hill 
a magnificent view is obtained, com¬ 
manding a very great expanse of 
water, Mount Baker, and the 



LATOURELLE FALLS, OREGON. 













AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS 



A VIEW OF MOUNT HOOD. 


223 

Olympic Range, in which latter 
are numerous glaciers large 
enough to swallow up the Alps. 

On the 2d of May we took 
passage at Victoria, on the 
Pacific Coast Steamship Com¬ 
pany’s vessel Queen , and 
started upon a delightful voyage 
to Alaska, that opalescent gem 
in the frosted coronet of the far 
northwest. The trip is a reve¬ 
lation, a day-dream of inde¬ 
scribable transports, a luxury 
of blissful surprises. It is a 
strange combination of ocean 
and inland water travel, and 
just enough of each to provide 
all the pleasures of both, with 
none of the monotonies or dis¬ 
comforts of either. The route 
is almost entirely land-locked 
through channels of varying 
width, among islands which 
appear numberless, and as green 
with prolific vegetation as the 
shores of Killarney’s lakes. 

At places the channel nar¬ 
rows and passes through walls 
of very great height, and again 
widens to many miles, but all 
the while there are emerald 
shores, and high-rising banks 
over which tumble many beau¬ 
tiful waterfalls, and still above 
these, in the hazy backgrounds, 
are snow-capped mountains. 
Two hundred miles north of 
Victoria is Nanaimo, the last 
town with telegraphic connec¬ 
tions, and six hundred miles 




















224 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS 


beyond the steamer touches at Fort Wrangel, where the first contact with Alaska Indians is made, and interest at once centers in the curious 
appearance and habits which they display. Passing thence through Wrangel Narrows the region of ice is reached, indicated by a few 
straggling bergs that have become detached from the glacier that forms in a fiord called Thunder Bay, near the mouth of Stikeen River. 
Then follows a view of the Coast Range, which is rent with icy canons that glow and gleam with refractions of clear sunlight, until in 
places they suggest the palace of Iris. Through this maze of mighty wonders the steamer plows her way to the town of Juneau, famous 
not so much for its latitude as being the location of the largest quartz-mill in the world. Thence we proceeded through a labyrinth of 
islands into Lynn Canal, which is considered to be the “most sublimely beautiful and spacious of all the mountain-walled channels of 
the Alaska route.” The Auk 
and Eagle Glaciers are dis¬ 
played on the right as you enter 
the canal, coming with grand 
effect from their far-reaching 
fountains and down through 
the forests. But it is on the 
west side of the canal, near the 
head, that the most striking 
feature of the landscape is seen 
—the Davidson Glacier. It first 
appears as an immense ridge of 
ice thrust forward into the 
channel, but when you have 
gained a position directly in 
front, it is shown as a broad 
flood issuing from a noble 
granite gate-way, and spreading 
out to right and left in a beau¬ 
tiful fan-shaped mass, three or 
four miles in width, the front 
of which is separated from the 
water by its terminal moraine. 

This is one of the most notable 
of the large glaciers that are in 
the first stage of decadence, 

reaching nearly to tide-water, but failing to enter it, send off icebergs. Davidson Glacier is on the left shore of Chilcat River, and very 
near the Indian village of Chilcat, the northernmost point reached by the regular line of steamers. The place is of very little interest except 
for its salmon canneries and other fisheries. Cod, herring and halibut are very plentiful, but all the streams thereabout abound with 
salmon. Indeed, during certain seasons they are so numerous as to fairly choke the shallow rivers, and in places they may be scooped up 
with shovels. From this point the steamer turns south to Icy Strait, then proceeds north again by that channel into Glacier Bay, whence 
beyond to Mount St. Elias is the real ice-land of Alaska. 

Glancing for a moment at the results of a general exploration, we find that there are between sixty and seventy small residual glaciers 



UMATILLA INDIAN CAMP, OREGON. 






INDIAN RIVER, ALASKA 





THE MOUNTAIN NEAR MUIR GLACIER. 


15 



















226 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


in the California Sierras. Through Oregon 
and Washington, glaciers, some of them of 
considerable size, still exist on the highest 
volcanic cones of the Cascade Mountains—the 
Three Sisters, Mounts Jefferson, Hood, St. 
Helens, Adams, Tacoma, Baker, and others, 
though none of them approach the sea. 
Through British Columbia and Southeastern 
Alaska the broad, sustained chain of mountains 
extending along the coast is generally glacier¬ 
bearing. The upper branches of nearly every 
canon are occupied by glaciers, which gradu¬ 
ally increase in size to the northward until the 
lofty region between Glacier Bay and Mount 
St. Elias is reached. 

The largest of the glaciers that discharge 
into Glacier Bay is the Muir, and being also 
the most accessible is the one to which tourists 
are taken and allowed to go ashore and climb 
about its ice-cliffs and watch the huge blue 
bergs as with tremendous thundering roar and 
surge they emerge and plunge from the ma¬ 
jestic vertical ice-wall in which the glacier 
terminates. 

The front of the glacier is about three miles 
wide, but the central berg-producing portion, 
that stretches across from side to side of the 
inlet, like a huge jagged barrier, is only about 
half as wide. The height of the ice-wall above 
the water is from 250 to 300 feet, but soundings 
made by Captain Carroll show that about 720 
feet of the wall is below the surface, while still 
a third portion is buried beneath moraine ma¬ 
terial. Therefore, were the water and rocky 
detritus cleared away, a sheer wall of blue ice 
would be presented a mile and a half wide and 
more than a thousand feet high. 

The number of bergs that become detached 
from the glacier every twelve hours varies with 
tide and weather, but generally a new one is 



CAVE IN THE GREAT GLACIER, BRITISH AMERICA. 





AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



SCUZZIE FALLS, NEAR NORTH BEND, BRITISH AMERICA. 


227 

thus fresh born every six or seven minutes, and 
so massive that the discharge may be heard 
like thunder or cannonading two or more miles 
away. When one of the fissured masses falls 
there is first a heavy, plunging crash, then a 
deep, deliberate, long-drawn-out thundering 
roar, followed by clashing, grating sounds from 
the agitated bergs set in motion by the new 
arrival, and the swash of waves along the 
beach. All the very large bergs rise from the 
bottom with a still grander commotion, rearing 
aloft in the air nearly to the top of the wall, 
with tons of water pouring down their sides, 
heaving and plunging again and again ere they 
settle and sail away as blue crystal islands; 
free at last after being held rigid as part of 
the slow-crawling glacier for centuries. And 
strange it seems that ice formed from snow on 
the mountains two and three hundred years 
ago, should after all its toil and travel in 
grinding down and fashioning the face of the 
landscape still remain so lovely in color and 
so pure. 

The rate of motion of the glacier as has 
been determined by Professor Reid is, near 
the front, about from five to ten feet per day. 
This one glacier is made up of about 200 
tributary glaciers, which drain an area of about 
a thousand square miles, and contains more ice 
than all the eleven hundred glaciers of the 
Alps combined. The distance from the front 
back to the head of the farthest tributary is 
about fifty miles, and the width of the trunk 
below the confluence of the main tributaries is 
twenty miles or more. 

Next to the Muir, the largest of the glaciers 
enters the bay at its extreme northwestern 
extension. Its broad, majestic current, fed by 
unnumbered tributaries, is divided at the front 
by an island, and from its long, blue wall the 



228 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



icebergs plunge and roar in one eternal storm, sounding on day and night, winter and summer, and from century to century. Five or six 
glaciers of the first class discharge into the bay, the number varying as the several outlets of the ice-fields are regarded as distinct glaciers, 
or one. About an equal number of the second class descend with broad, imposing currents to the level of the bay without entering it to 
discharge bergs; while the tributaries of these and the smaller glaciers are innumerable. 

Mr. John Muir, the explorer of Muir Glacier, thus describes his visit to that wonderful iee-sw r ept region: “The clouds cleared away 
on the morning of the 27th, and we had glorious views of the ice-rivers pouring down from their spacious fountains on either hand, and of 
the grand assemblage of mount¬ 
ains, immaculate in their robes 
of new snow, and bathed and 
transfigured in the most impres¬ 
sively lovely sunrise light I 
ever beheld. Memorable, too, 
was the starry splendor of a 
night spent on the east side of 
the bay, in front of two large 
glaciers north of the Muir. 

Venus seemed half as big as the 
Moon, while the berg-covered 
bay, glowing and sparkling 
with responsive light, seemed 
another sky of equal glory. 

Shortly after three o’clock in 
the morning, I climbed the 
dividing ridge between the two 
glaciers, 2,000 feet above camp, 
for the sake of the night views; 
and how great was the enjoy¬ 
ment in the solemn silence be¬ 
tween those two radiant skies 
no words may tell.” 

The destructive effects of 
glaciers and the extent of their 
ravages have been made the sub¬ 
ject of many interesting essays 

by distinguished scientists, but nowhere has it been so interestingly and understanding^ treated as by Dr. Wright in the Edinburgh 
Review , on the “Ice Age of North America.” The monograph, much abbreviated, is as follows: 

“It is not more than 10,000 years ago since the whole of North America and Northern Europe emerged from beneath a deluge of ice 
which seems to have destroyed the aboriginal inhabitants as remorselessly as Noah’s flood. 

“The chipped flint implement-makers perished with their contemporaries, the mammoth, the woolly rhinoceros, and the sable¬ 
toothed tiger, and left the globe to be repeopled by the polished stone-working or Neolithic progenitors of its actual inhabitants. The gap 


FACE OF MUIR GLACIER, ALASKA. 










VILLAGE OF KASA-AN, ALASKA 
















230 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 




between the two races is conspicuous, and has not yet been archaeologically bridged. A catastrophe is indicated; and a catastrophe by 
water. This is the conclusion of science; how singularly it harmonizes with the biblical narrative is almost superfluous to point out.” 

The destruction of the Antediluvians who 
lived before the Ice Age set in was accomplished 
much further back; the date 6,000 B. C. repre¬ 
sents the end of the Ice Age, not its beginning. 

How it was that ice submerged the world no one 
seems to be exactly able to say, but a great deal 
of valuable information has been obtained by 
the geological research of the present century. 

Before this devastating deluge of ice set in— 

“Trees reigned without interruption, in 
north temperate and Polar regions, throughout 
the vast expanse of tertiary time. Palms and 
cycads then sprang up in the room of oaks and 
beeches in England; turtles and crocodiles 
haunted English rivers and estuaries; lions, 
elephants, and hyenas roamed at large over 
English dry land. Anthropoid apes lived in 
Germany and France, fig and cinnamon trees 
flourished in Dantzic; in Greenland, up to 
seventy degrees of latitude, magnolias bloomed, 
and vines ripened their fruit; while in Spitz- 
bergen, and even in Grinnell Land, within little 
more than eight degrees of the pole, swamp- 
cypresses and walnuts, cedars, limes, planes and 
poplars grew freely.” 

For some reason or other the temperature 
gradually fell, and great glaciers forming in the 
northern regions, the highlands of Canada and 
the Arctic Circles, submerged Northern Europe 
and reduced Canada and half of the United States 
to the present condition of Greenland. Those 
who see glaciers to-day can form little idea of 
the enormous possibilities of semi-fluid ice. 

Only in Alaska, where the Muir Glacier empties 
itself into the Muir inlet at the rate of seventy 
feet a day, can we form any idea of the glacier 


* . 




— 






CHRISTINE FALLS, ALICE BAY, ALASKA. 


as a destructive agency. This glacier empties two hundred million cubic feet of ice into the sea every day; that is to say, 45,000 tons of 
ice fall into the water every minute in avalanches with detonations which sound like the booming of a canonnade. The verv earth seems 





AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


231 


to tremble, and the sea boils and foams with the contiimal discharge of fresh icebergs. “From observations upon living glaciers,” says 
Dr. Wright, “and from the known nature of ice, we may learn to recognize the track of a glacier as readily and unmistakably as we would 
the familiar foot-prints of an animal.” By the effects of ice-grinding, rocks are smoothed and polished, rounded and mammilated. They 
are, moreover, striated. “These may be called glacial hieroglyphics; glacial deposits are equally distinctive. They are of three different 
kinds—ground moraine, terminal moraine, and erratic bowlders. The heights to which the ice-flood rose are frequently self-registered on 
the mountains which once breasted its flow. They serve, in Dr. Wright’s phrase, as ‘glaciometers.’ Thus it has been learned that the ice was 
a mile thick in New England and a couple of thousand feet thick in Pennsylvania. The date of the close of the Glacial Epoch in the United 

States can scarcely, then, be 
placed earlier than 6,000 B. C. 
For it was, we repeat, the with¬ 
drawal of the ice that set the 
chronometer of the Falls going. 
The Falls of Niagara, indeed, 
constitute in themselves, in Dr. 
Wright’s apt phrase, ‘a glacial 
chronometer.’ ” 

It was this tremendous 
agency of glacial action that 
gave us Northwest America as 
we have it at present. ‘ ‘ The in¬ 
exhaustible fertility of the Far 
West is an endowment from 
vanished glaciers. ’ ’ 

The world to-day is very 
different from what it was in 
the old times. The mountains 
stood higher and the glaciers 
forming on their slopes 
crumpled the earth in beneath 
their weight. The earth-crust 
was not strong enough to bear 
the weight of its ice-armor. 
About six million square miles 
were covered with ice, varying 

in thickness of half a mile to a mile. Taking it only at half a mile in height, the weight per square mile was no less than two thousand 
million of tons. “And the whole of this enormous mass being extracted from the ocean, its differential effect in producing change of level 
was doubled. The ice-cumbered land accordingly went down, like an overladen ship, until it was awash with the waves, and sea-shells 
were deposited along coast-fringes above the drift. Then, as the ice melted, recovery ensued.” The whole article is full of interesting 
and suggestive reading, and is an excellent example of a popular presentation of the results of scientific research. 

The return trip was made down Chatham and Peril Straits to Sitka, the capital city of Alaska, situated on the Pacific shore of 



TAKU GLACIER, ALASKA. 





232 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


Baranoff Island. The place has grown 
very much in importance in the past 
few years, though it has not increased 
correspondingly in size. It is a con¬ 
siderable harbor for whaling and seal¬ 
ing vessels, that touch there for 
supplies, and accordingly supports a 
population that is largely American. 
The natives, however, still continue 
in considerable numbers, but contact 
with English-speaking people is 
rapidly civilizing them, and their 
old-time characteristics are fast dis¬ 
appearing. But in one particular they 
exhibit small change, viz.: religion. 
Long under the domination of Russian 
influence and missionaries of the 
Greek Church, it is not surprising that 
the natives should continue in the 
faith which was thus first established 
among them. There are three Greek 
churches in the city, all fairly well sup¬ 
ported, though the communicants are 
content to worship in rather humble 
edifices. But while adopting the 
Greek faith, the native Indians gen¬ 
erally retain their ancient mortuary 
customs; and among the interior 
tribes particularly, witchcraft, or 
Shamanism, and exorcism, still pre¬ 
vails. Burial of bodies is very seldom 
practiced among any of the Indians, 
as preservation of their dead is a uni¬ 
versal desire. It is, therefore, a 
common thing to see their cemeteries, 
instead of earth-mounds and tomb¬ 
stones, a collection of mortuary 
houses, in which the dead are laid 
with great care, concealed only by the 
skins or blankets in which they are 











- 


DAWSON’S GLACIER, BRITISH AMERICA. 













SITKA BAY, ALASKA 


































THE POOL AT BANFF HOT SPRINGS, BRITISH AMERICA, 






















234 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


wrapped, something after the manner of the 
Sioux Indians. Thus disposed of, the dead 
are long preserved in that cold climate, the 
houses themselves often decaying before dis- 
solution of the bodies is far advanced. This, 
however, applies to what may be called the 
better class of natives. Among the interior 
and poor people, it is the custom to remove 
the body to some secluded spot, usually ou a 
’ bluff overlooking a river, and lay it upon the 
ground. A shelter is made by building over 
it a small conical-shaped structure of spruce 
logs, and a tree near-by is stripped of its 
branches and small pieces of cloth are tied to 
it to mark the spot. The household utensils, 
sled, and some of the weapons of the deceased 
are left with him, should he be the head of 
a family, and the place is tabooed thenceforth. 

Our return journey was devoid of the sur¬ 
prises which made the northward trip so 
delightful, yet the charm which possessed us 
after leaving Victoria continued throughout, 
for the magnificent scenery along the route 
cannot be exhausted by a single glance, but 
rather grows in beauty when lingeringly 
watched. It was impossible to feel that the 
voyage was being made on any part of the 
ocean, so still was the water, so green the 
near-by shores, so clear the sky, dropping 
down all around upon frosted peaks and 
island forests. And the nights were so glori¬ 
ously grand, sprinkled with jewels of light 
from moon and stars that made the world as 
beautiful as the lawn in front of paradise, 
and brought to mind the poet’s tribute to 
nature’s solitude: 

“ The waves were dead; 

The tides were in their graves; 

The moon, their mistress, had expired before; 

The winds were withered in the stagnant air.” 



DEVIL’S GATE, BEAVER CANON, BRITISH AMERICA. 









CHAPTER VIII. 

ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS TO YELLOWSTONE PARK. 



J T was the loth of May when we returned to Victoria, and without any waste of time we proceeded to Seattle, and there made hasty 
preparation to continue our work along the northern lines of road towards the east. A little change was made in our original plans, 
by a brief diversion from the routes we had marked out, in order to view and take some pictures of the marvelous scenery along Fraser 
River, on the line of the Canadian Pacific Railroad. This stream is as wide as the Ohio, but generally of great depth, and being 
confined within perpendicular walls, often rising to a height of 500 feet, it is a rushing flood, too swift in places for the most powerful 

steamer to make head against. 
The road follows the bed of this 
torrential stream for a distance 
of 150 miles, through the Cas¬ 
cade Mountains, and in sight 
at times of the Okinagan Range. 
Beyond these eastward are the 
Gold, Selkirk and Rocky 
Mountains, and in between and 
about these are glaciers of ex¬ 
traordinary proportions, which 
in summer feed tearing cata¬ 
racts and plunging waterfalls, 
and furnish nature pictures that 
thrill the heart with wonder. 
Beyond the valley of Thompson 
River, where the Golden Range 
begins, the scenery is quite as 
grand, though scarcely so sub¬ 
lime as that in the canon of the 
Fraser; but the mountains are 
surprisingly beautiful, and 
variegated with patches of 
snow, clumps of evergreen, and 
sheets of soft blue water that 
invite the angler. Louise, 
Agnes and Mirror lakes lie one 
above the other, high up upon 
the mountain sides, where they 

SPOKANE FALLS, WASHINGTON. are often hidden by clouds, and 


235 














NATIVE GIRLS OF HAWAII, SANDWICH ISLANDS 






















KANFOHE PARK, HAWAII 









238 

are accordingly called the “Three Sisters of 
the Sky.” Castle Mountain may be seen 
from this point, which is only a few miles 
from Banff, famous for its hot springs, and 
for being the chief resort in the Canadian 
National Park, with a hotel capable of accom¬ 
modating 800 guests. 

The side-trip which we took on the Cana¬ 
dian Pacific occupied only one week, and 
though not originally contemplated in our 
plan of photographing American scenery, 
more than compensated for the change, for 
we are thus enabled to present some British 
American scenery equal to the most magnifi¬ 
cent, imposing and attractive that our own 
country possesses. 

Had the time been at our disposal, we 
would have made our scenic journey extend 
to the Sandwich Islands, after our return to 
Victoria, particularly as there was some polit¬ 
ical agitation in the government at Hawaii at 
the time. Indeed, while in San Francisco, 
we were earnestly urged to visit the islands 
with our cameras, so as to include them in 
our Wonderland book; and to the other in¬ 
ducements offered, we were presented with 
some views of the Hawaiian palace, the pal¬ 
metto embowered walks, cocoanut groves, and 
pictures of the charming native girls, which 
latter was a particularly powerful persuasive. 
But the islands, charming though they are, 
do not belong as yet to the American domain, 
and cannot therefore be properly included, 
though on account of the annexation senti¬ 
ment, and President Harrison’s message 
urging their acquisition, the views given to 
us are here reproduced. 

Returning to Seattle, we proceeded di¬ 
rectly eastward again, by the Northern Pacific 
Railroad, crossing for a third time the Cascade 


KAKABEKA FALLS, NEAR FORT WILLIAMS, THUNDER BAY, LAKE SUPERIOR. 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 






' 



THE ROYAL PALACE, HAWAII 
















































240 

Range and viewing again the white and sun- 
lighted crests of Mounts Hood, St. Helens, 
Adams and Ranier. The route is along the 
Yakimer River, through charming scenery 
all the way to Spokane Falls, where the 
beauty of the landscape, as well as the might 
and awfulness of the falls, arrested us for a 
time. Palouse Falls is within nine miles of 
the junction of the Snake with Columbia 
River, and are a part of Palouse River, which, 
after flowing through a deep canon thirty 
feet wide, pours over a precipice that is a 
sheer height of 125 feet. The surrounding 
rocks exhibit many unique forms, ranging in 
terraces to a height of 2,000 feet, and then 
assuming the shape of pinnacles, chimneys, 
columns and needles, as if the region had one 
time been the work-grounds of giant sculptors. 

Snake River is interrupted by enormous 
falls, the most important of which are Ameri¬ 
can and Island Falls, the former having a drop 
of thirty feet; being very wide before taking 
the final leap, the river flows over a series 
of ledges that break the water into cataracts. 
Further up the stream, about fifty miles from 
Shoshone Falls, are Tost Falls, which leap 
down from a height of two hundred feet, and 
then the river, of which they are a part, dis¬ 
appears under the lava-covered earth, but 
reappears again several miles beyond and 
resumes its impetuous and erratic course. 

Some fifty miles east of Spokane, on the 
line of the Northern Pacific, is Hauser Junc¬ 
tion, where the road branches southward, 
through the Coeur d’ Alene Indian Reserva¬ 
tion and a great mining region, while the 
main line runs around the north shore of Rake 
Pend d’ Oreille, the most beautiful sheet of 
water in the northwest, and destined some¬ 
time to become a popular resort. Beyond the 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



SNOW-SHEDS ON THE CANADIAN PACIFIC. 

































MISSOURI RIVER, ALONG THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILROAD. 


16 














242 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


lake is the Flathead Indian Reservation, and 
at Missoula the two lines of road unite again. 

This city is a place of much importance, and 
admirably situated near the Junction of Hell 
Gate and Bitter Root River, a district of great 
scenic beauty. Flathead Lake lies sixty 
miles to the north, an emerald sheet of crystal 
water reposing within a bed of lofty cliffs, and 
belted in the center by a chain of wooded 
islands, while its waters are discharged into 
the Pend d’ Oreille River, that dashes away 
through deep gorges in tumultuous flow. Forty 
miles from this picturesque lake are the Two 
Sisters’ Cascades, which pour over the opposite 
walls of a colossal amphitheater 2,000 feet 
high, and then unite to journey through gorge, 
over waterfall and across lovely meadows, 
catching perfume and inspiration on their way 
to the Pacific. 

The way thence from Missoula is over a 
comparatively level stretch of country, until 
just west of Helena the road strikes the Main 
Divide of the Rocky Mountains, and to cross 
this broken region it is compelled to pursue 
a winding way. 

Helena is reputed to be the richest city of 
Its size in all the world, a claim well supported 
by appearances, for while having probably 
15,000 inhabitants, it has all the conveniences 
of our largest cities, and in no other place of 
equal population are the public buildings and 
residences so magnificent and palatial. But 
aside from its wealth and beauty, the place is 
the center of a region as remarkable for its 
scenic attractions as for its silver mines. 

Eighteen miles north of Helena is the canon 
of Little Prickly Pear, where precipitous walls 
rise to a varying height of 500 to 1,000 feet, 
and are gorgeously colored by stratas of differ¬ 
ent formations, blending with hues of trees, KANANASKE’S FALLS, BRITISH AMERICA. 










FRONT VIEW OF MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS-CLEOPATRA AND JUPITER TERRACES. 























244 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



shrubs, and vines that tenderly cling to their faces. Near-by is the portal through which the headwaters of the Missouri go madly 
careening, making a deep roaring sound as they dash between walls 1,000 feet high. Atlantic Canon is only three miles further down the 
river, and next in quick succession appears the Bear’s Tooth, two monoliths that may be distinctly seen from Helena, twenty miles away. 

The Montana Central and Great Northern Railroad convey travelers over a good road eighty miles further, to the Falls of the 
Missouri, three in number, which are scattered over a distance of twelve miles, where the river flows through a canon with vertical walls 
200 to 500 feet high. We first meet a cascade called Black Eagle Falls, where the entire river drops over a ledge twenty-six feet high, a 
precursor of the more ter¬ 
rible waterfalls that are 
to come. The next one 
to appear in view is 
Rainbow Falls, where the 
river, 1,200 feet wide, 
hurls itself down a per¬ 
pendicular descent of fifty 
feet. Six miles further 
down are the Great Falls, 
that have a leap of ninety 
feet, and whose terrible 
roaring can be heard a 
dozen miles away. At 
this point the river has a 
volume greater than the 
Mississippi, but is nar¬ 
rowed to 300 feet by walls 
200 feet high. An island 
divides the rushing 
waters, the half next to 
the right bank dashing 
down with such tremen¬ 
dous effect that clouds of 
spray are sent 200 feet 
high, which, struck by 
bright sunbeams, are con¬ 
verted into rainbows or CANON OF MISSOURI RIVER, NEAR GREAT FALLS. 

at times glow with prismatic hues like giant soap-bubbles. That part of the stream flowing to the left passes over a succession of ledges, 
forming a magnificent cataract of fleecy foam, 200 feet in width and 90 feet in perpendicular elevation. But though these are the 
principal falls, there are twelve others within a distance of ten miles, having a total descent of 400 feet, and these interruptions in the 
channel continue, though in a lesser degree, as far down as Fort Benton, which is the head of navigation. 

The country east of Helena, along the line of the Northern Pacific, presents no variation of apparently boundless prairie land, until 
the Bad Lands of Northern Dakota are reached, which will be hereafter described. One hundred and fifty miles east of the city, however, 





PULPIT TERRACE, MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, 

















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


246 

is the town of Livingston, at which point Yellowstone Park visitors change cars to a branch line that runs fifty miles dne south to Cinnabar, 
which is within a mile of the Wyoming State line, and three miles from the northern boundary of the National Park. We are now upon 
the borders of the most wondrous region of the earth, the curiosities of which we will now attempt to briefly describe, though words seem 
to lose their significance when they are used to portray the marvels that exist in this real wonderland. 

At Cinnabar, tourists take the stage for a seven miles’ ride to Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, which is the first and principal hostelry 
within the park. This ride prepares the visitor for remarkable surprises, for it is through an erratic district of soaring pinnacles, dizzy 
walls and chaotic formations, 
stranger and more weird than 
the gate-way that Cerberus 
guarded. Away up ou the apex 
of the first tall spire of stoue 
that has broken away from the 
cation walls of Gardiner River, 
is seen an eagle’s nest, an aerie 
so lofty that the clouds play 
about it; so far-reaching sky¬ 
ward that it is tipped with the 
waking beams of sunlight before 
day, and is bright with linger¬ 
ing rays when evening shades 
have descended. By aid of 
glass the eagle may be seen 
demurely surveying the world, 
or in her absence the straining 
necks of her ambitious brood, 
watching the neighboring crags 
for their royal parent’s return. 

Nothing that I saw in Yellow¬ 
stone Park impressed me more 
than this nest of eagles in the 
azure depths of that perilous 
peak. 

This great National 
Park is a volcanic plateau some 



tM 



m&W 






RAINBOW FALLS, GRAND FALLS, MONTANA. 


10,000 feet above sea level, and embraces a territory fifty-five by sixty-five miles, or 3,575 square miles. It was first visited by John Colter, 
an attache of the Lewis and Clarke exploring expedition in 1806, but it was not until nearly fifty years later that stories told of the region 
by old trappers and hunters were verified by a visit of members of the Geologic Survey. In 1880 it was made a National Park, since which 
time it has been under the immediate control of the Secretary of the Interior, who appoints a superintendent with headquarters at the 
Mammoth Hot Springs, and polices the park with a company of cavalry, whose principal care is the protection of game. So faithfully has 
this duty been executed that the park now abounds with deer, buffalo, elk, bear, and a few mountain lions, besides a great abundance of 



















LITTLE JUPITER TERRACE 


















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


248 



small game and water-fowl. Upon alighting from the stage at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, the first objects that attract the interest of 
visitors are the pink terraced springs and Cap of Liberty, which are in the front-yard, so to speak. The springs, fifty in number, cover an 
area of 170 acres and by a constant deposition of carbonate of lime have built 
up, terrace upon terrace, a mound fully 200 feet high. 

The springs have their source somewhere within an active volcanic 
belt, and thus heated by internal fires they pour out their waters at a tem¬ 
perature of 112° to 103° Fahrenheit, which, acting upon the soft limestone, 
dissolves and converts it into what geologists call travertine , a semi¬ 
crystalline deposit that quickly hardens upon coming in contact with the 
air. When first observed, the terraces resemble a snow-bank, but by other 
writers they have been compared to the terminal front of a glacier, and again 
like a foaming cascade suddenly turned into stone. Streaks and patches of 
red, yellow and green seen upon the white slopes mark the course of over¬ 
flowing water, while clouds of steam float lightly upward from the many 
springs, but only to quickly disappear. 

There are in all eight well-defined benches, each with a more or less 
level surface, and terminating with vertical fronts to the next terrace below. 

Near the terraces, though on a bench of ground by itself, is Liberty Cap, 
a pillar forty-three feet high and twenty feet in diameter, with sphinx-like 
profile, the cone of a hot spring long since extinct. Close-by is a similar 
monolith, not so tall, called the Devil’s Thumb, a name readily suggested 
by the proximity of the springs to Pluto’s dominion, as some will have it, 
and the gossip that Satan’s hand is in all the region thereabout. 

In wandering around the terraces the visitor is sure to have his sur¬ 
prise quickened by the brightly-tinted basins, and the red and orange slopes 
overflowed by the hot waters. These colors are due to the presence of 
minute algae, or water-plants, whose life is strangely enough supported by 
the hot water and the lime held in solution; for investigation has disclosed 
the astonishing fact that the chief work of these microscopic plants is the 
separation from the water of the carbonate of lime, which they cause by 
abstracting the carbonic acid. 

The view from these mammoth terraces is picturesque beyond com¬ 
parison: The dark and lofty summit of Sepulchre Mountain shows its drowsy 
head near-by 011 the north; while the upper valley of the Yellowstone, and 
the jagged peaks of Snowy Range, are seen to the northeast, between Sepul¬ 
chre and the long face of Mount Evarts. I 11 the southeast the eye dwells 
pleasantly upon the distant view of Lava Creek and Undine Falls, with 
many snow-white peaks, standing like sentinels around this wizard realm; 
while Bunsen Peak keeps watch towards the south, its dark slopes making 

an effective background to the white hills of hot spring deposit. SLUICE-BOX CANON, NEAR GREAT FALLS, MONTANA. 












COATING SPRING TERRACE 


<*. tfJ, 



















250 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



When we turn from viewing the surrounding scenery and begin to examine particularly each separate formation, we find near the 
center of this sublimated field a blue spring, brilliant as a sapphire, and clear as a diamond, with a deep and irregular rim all around it, as 
if nature had made an effort to retain its beautiful waters. This spring is fifteen by twenty feet in area, and is in a state of constant 
agitation. The sides and bottom of the basin are formed of pure white travertine, while the varying depths cause the water to appear all 
shades between a deep peacock-blue and a light nile-green. Issuing at a temperature of 1(55°, the water contains a considerable amount of 
gas, which escapes at the surface of the pool, thus causing the flow to rise in the form of a little dome, while a pulsating movement is 
imparted which sends out waves that ripple across 
the water and curl over the shallow rim of the 
bowl, filling other basins along its course. These 
terraced overflow basins, thus formed, are a most 
striking feature of the springs. No description can 
do justice to their beauty, for neither the delicate 
fretwork of their walls, the frosted surface of the 
glistening deposit, nor the brilliant colors of the 
pools and rivers can be adequately described. 

In many places the overflow is in thin 
sheets and little cascades, while yellow, sulphur- 
coated threads of algae are abundant, though they 
do not impart their color to the water, for the 
exquisite blues and greens of the hottest basins are 
due solely to the varying depths of water. On the 
other hand, the bright lemon, red and green shades 
of the cooler pools are entirely vegetable in their 
nature, and due to the presence of algae lining the 
basins and striping their outer walls. 

The upper basins are generally shallow, 
because of the rapid deposit of lime, but this depo¬ 
sition occurs after the overflow, thus forming what 
is called the Marble Basins, after which, the water 
being somewhat cooled, the deposit is slower. 

Accordingly, we find that the lower slopes are 
exquisitely fringed with slender stalactites and 

pillars, forming the beautiful Pulpit Basins as shown 
in the illustration ECHO CANON FALLS, IN ROCKY MOUNTAINS, NEAR MIDVALE, MONTANA. 

The Government has expended large sums of money in making roads through the most interesting sections of the park, and over 
these we pursued a greater part of our way in reaching the places which we desired to photograph. A stage runs through the park, in 
which visitors may make the tour in six days, but for manifest reasons we traveled by private conveyances, camping out as often as we took 
quarters at the several hotels located at convenient distances along the route. 

Leaving the Mammoth Hot Springs terraces, whose incomparable beauties must ever remain as a delightful remembrance, we traveled 
southward by the Hoodoos, and entered the Golden Gate, where a part of the road is built over a canon and another part is carved out of the 











LIMESTONE HOODOOS. IN YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 






































AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


252 


cliffs, along which there is a charm following every footstep. On the one 
side rise precipitous walls, while on the other is a gorge of almost infinite 
depth, through which plunges Gardiner River, broken and foaming with 
cascade and waterfall. Beyond the gates there is a brief level, then 
down again among fresh curiosities the route leads by the Devil’s Paint- 
Pots, Crystal Spring, pretty Beaver Lake, and along a mountain base 
covered with blasted pines. Then another ascent, until the altitude is so 
great that we found snow in considerable patches as late as July 1st. 
But besides the bubbling springs and sputtering sulphur vats, whose 
locations were marked here and there in the distance by their streams of 
vapor, our interest was chained by the obsidian cliffs on our left, a black 
mountain of mineral glass that sparkled with unnatural lustre because of 
the dusky background, while strewed about were broken bits that made 
the spot resemble the remains of a glass factory. 

At every few paces we startled a woodchuck which, satisfying his 
curiosity with a glance, quickly disappeared among the stones. Deer 
were occasionally seen scampering through the dead pine forest, and as 
we reached Beaver Lake two solemn blue cranes crossed our road and 
tried to hide their brood in a patch of tall grass. The hoarse “konks” 
of the cock, the thin “peeps” of the young, and the peculiar motions of 
the hen in her great agitation, were extremely amusing. 

Twenty miles from Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel is the Norris 
Geyser Basin, where we were entertained with our first view of the 
spouting volcanoes throwing up streams of hot water and great volumes 
of vapor. This is indeed the Devil’s Kitchen, for besides the hellish 
aspect of boiling caldrons, the air is charged with those sulphurous fumes 
that are said to certainly indicate his activity and immediate presence. 
There is no sign of soil thereabout, for the surface is incrusted with a deep 
deposit of lime, in which vents oeci;r to allow the escape of gases and to 
give intimation of the fiery furnace which is raging beneath our feet. 
We counted eighteen geysers from the insecure position which we took; 
the most of them, however, were infantile and irregular in their action, 
sending up a shower of mud at occasional intervals, and then subsiding 
to gather fresh force; but steam poured out continually, and when we 
moved a little further south, the roar of Steamboat Geyser fell on our 
ears. It, too, acted spasmodically; but every few minutes there was a 
deep rumbling, followed quickly by a respiration, deep, powerful and 
awful as the rush of a hurricane, then a regurgitation, as if the earth were 
swallowing up again the gas and steam which she had poured out. 

O 11 the brink of this infernal pit, distributed over a considerable 





HYMEN TERRACES, MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS. 







CLEOPATRA AND JUPITER TERRACES. 





































w*r: V, W ^ Kl 

I* V.|ku| 

Ml 



JUPITER TERRACE, MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS 







AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



space, were transparent pools of water of the most brilliant lines, indigo, orange, carmine and emerald, down in whose depths are queer 
formations of petrifying algae, and bubbles that look like pearls. Near this beautifully colored and transparent spring is Mud Geyser, a 
basin full of mush, that lazily sputters as though it were hung over a slow fire, awaiting the spoon of a tardy diner. There is another mud 
volcano near Sulphur Mountain, the crater of which is thirty feet deep and twenty-five feet in diameter, and which is in a state of constant 
ebullition, throwing up great quantities of mud and steam to a height of 200 feet, and at times shaking the mountain with its terrible 
convulsions. Great as were the wonders which we saw in Norris Basin, it proved to be only the threshold of the colossal, the overpowering, 
the awful sights which we were yet to 
behold. 

The well-constructed roadway 
leading south from the Norris Geyser 
Basin is along the Gibbon River, by 
Johnson Peak and Hot Springs, into 
Gibbon Canon, which, however, is dis¬ 
tinguished for its gracefully sloping 
sides rather than for its cliffs and depths. 

A little way to the west the canon 
becomes wilder, and just below Beryl 
Spring is a high shelf in the river, over 
which the rushing waters plunge in a 
fall of ninety feet. But the descent is 
gradual, so that instead of torrential 
dash the waters, after breaking on the 
sharp projections of the rock face, slide 
into the river below and then speed away 
to join Madison River, into which is 
drained the overflow of the many active 
geysers. Though not precipitous, Gib¬ 
bon Falls is a beautiful sheet of liquid 
crystals, rolling down terraces and 
ledges exquisitely colored by the pres¬ 
ence of different minerals, and in the 
sunlight exhibiting a sheen and bril¬ 
liance almost equal to that of Yellow¬ 
stone Falls. The charm is enhanced 
by deep coverts of pine that are reflected in the placidly-flowing stream above and below the falls, and by the castellated bluffs that confine 
the w'aters. The prospect from the canon walls is also delightful, for towards every point there is a lovely panorama of remarkable 
diversity, including mountains, valleys, parks, rivers, and geysers, the latter showing themselves many miles north and south, while steam 
from boiling caldrons rolls skywards and gathers in volume until immense cumulus clouds are formed that hang ominously above the 
valley, or are drifted away to break upon the sides of the surrounding mountains. 

Continuing our trip southward through Gibbon Canon and by Gibbon Falls, whence the landscape is more level, we came at length to 


IN THE BELT VALLEY, NEAR GREAT FALLS. 
















258 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



Fire-Hole Creek and the Dower Geyser Basin. We were now in the region of giant geysers, in the visible presence of the most terrible 
manifestations of nature. In this pit of Acheron, this purgatory of ferment and explosion, covering an area of forty square miles, are 
almost countless geysers, distributed in seven groups, as if banded in rivalry. One of these groups is near the center of the basin and has 
one hundred orifices that spout steam and water, resembling from a distance an extensive manufactory. The most interesting feature of 
the Lower Basin is Fountain Geyser, which throws a column of water twenty feet in diameter to a height of fifty feet, though it plays only 
at intervals of many days. Near-by is 
Monument Basin, so called from the forma¬ 
tions of every conceivable shape which 
distinguish it. Evangeline Geyser is 
another eruptive volcano that throbs and 
thumps violently when in action, but never 
casts up water more than a few feet above 
the surface; it has a beautifully scalloped 
rim, with small bowls of exquisite incrusta¬ 
tions, resembling some of the basins in 
Mammoth Terraces. It is in the Upper 
Basin, eight miles further south, however, 
that the greatest of geysers are to be seen, 
though the area covered is scarcely three 
square miles, and the springs are less 
numerous. I 11 this region, very near to 
Fire-Hole River, is a spot called Hell’s 
Half-Acre, a designation peculiarly appro¬ 
priate by reason of the purgatorial wonders 
which exist therein, and the activity with 
which old Nick’s stokers stir the subter¬ 
ranean furnaces. The largest geyser in 
this fiery-liaunted district, and indeed 
much the largest in the world, is Excelsior 
Geyser, which has a mouth two hundred 
feet wide and has been known to cast up a 
flood of water two hundred feet 


high, 

carrying with it large stones rent from the 
walls of its Plutonian caverns. Excelsior 
displays its power at very rare intervals, 
sometimes remaining quiet for years; but to our surprise and joy it was in a state of violent eruption during our visit, and thus gave us an 
opportunity not only to see but to photograph its immensity and awfulness. 

The most interesting, because always reliable, is Old Faithful Geyser, which throws up a stream of hot water six feet in diameter 
130 feet high every fifty-seven minutes, and sustains the flow for a period of five minutes. The amount of water thus discharged every 
hour is 100,000 gallons, or enough to supply a small river. The Bee-hive, located on the opposite side of the river, blows up a column of 




LIBERTY CAP AND MAMMOTH HOT SRRINGS HOTEL. 











w f... ; 














*%.*■ 






vw**jS|w3|s 

^g&atess *f 
, .-: . .-** ■ • 
'•' -'•■ ■ .' '•£&'**;■■• '. 

■ 


EXCELSIOR GEYSER IN ACTION 



















26 o 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


water three feet in diameter to a height of 250 feet, and plays, generally, for fifteen minutes, but at intervals of twenty-four hours. The 
Giantess is, for several reasons, the most interesting of all the 700 geysers within National Park. One may approach to the very brink of her 
crater, which is twenty feet across, and look down one hundred feet into her hot throat and hear the fierce gurgling of water, but none is 
visible until an eruption is about to occur. Then the sputtering increases, deep groans are audible, aud a burst of steam is followed by a 
discharge of water that shoots upward in a succession of jets. The first main column sent up reaches a height of sixty feet, through which 
there are projected small 
streams a foot in diameter to 
a height of 250 feet, thus mak¬ 
ing a magnificent display for 
twenty minutes which nothing 
artificial can ever rival. 

Giant Geyser is less pre¬ 
tentious than the Giantess, 
having a ragged cone that is 
broken on one side, and 
through a vent eight feet in 
diameter a discharge is made 
at irregular intervals, when a 
stream of water is tossed to a 
height varying from 90 to 200 
feet, and the activity some¬ 
times continues for two or three 
hours. Other geysers that 
make fine displays are the Saw¬ 
mill, Turban, Grotto, Punch- 
Bowl, Soda, Grand, Fan, and 
Riverside, some of which are 
never quiet, while others play 
only occasionally. It has been 
found by experiment that for¬ 
eign substances thrown into 
some of these craters create 
an agitation that frequently 
results in eruptions; the intro¬ 
duction of soap or lye is in¬ 
variably attended by some manifestation even in the quiet geysers, while the active ones are by this means made to flow again almost 
immediately after an eruption has taken place. 

After two days spent among the Upper and Lower Basin Geysers, with our cameras in constant service, for the sun shone brightly, 
we went a few miles further down to Lone Star Geyser, Hot Springs, and to the high lands above Grant’s Pass. From this latter point of 
observation a magnificent view was had and photographs obtained of the Great Teton Mountains and Snake River Valley, which fill the 



CUPID’S CAVE, MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS. 








OLD FAITHFUL, LOWER GEYSER BASIN. 














262 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



distance with lines of hazy grandeur. Turning then towards the east we crossed Norris Pass (8,350 feet altitude), and after twenty miles 
of travel emerged from the forest and reached the Thumb of Yellowstone Lake, as it is called. This magnificent body of water is fifteen 
miles wide by twenty-five in 
length, and is a basin of won 
derful beauty, thus described 
by Mr. Langford: 

‘ ‘ Secluded amid the loftiest 
peaks of the Rocky Mountains, 
possessing strange peculiarities 
of form and beauty, this watery 
solitude is one of the most 
attractive objects in the world. 

Its southern shore, indented 
with long, narrow islets, not 
unlike the frequent fiords of 
Iceland, bears testimony to the 
awful upheaval and tremen¬ 
dous force of the elements 
which resulted in its creation. 

Islands of emerald hue dot its 
surface, and a margin of spark¬ 
ling sands forms its setting. 

The winds, compressed in 
their passage through the 
mountain gorges, lash it into 
a sea as terrible as the fretted 
ocean, covering it with foam.” 

In several places along the 
shore, and even projecting 
from the lake, are several boil¬ 
ing hot springs, which flowing 
with clear water holding lime 
in solution, pyramidal cones are 
thus built around their outlets, 
giving to them the appearance 
of ant-mounds when seen at a 
distance. Professor Hayden 
startles us with the statement 


RUSTIC FALLS, GOLDEN GATE ROAD. 


that he has caught fish from the ice-cold lake while standing on these mounds, and dropping them into the craters of hot water, had the 
novel experience of cooking the fish without removing them from the hook. 














FISHING FROM YELLOWSTONE LAKE, AND COOKING FISH IN THE CONE OF AN ACTIVE GEYSER. 





























264 

Traveling along the shores of Yellowstone 
Lake for a distance of something more than 
thirty miles, we came to Lake Hotel, and 
beyond that the cliffs, which, however, are 
scarcely deserving of notice when brought 
into comparison with the Columnar Cliffs of 
the Yellowstone Canon, soon to be described. 
Continuing our circuit of the park, we fol¬ 
lowed the main road, running along Yellow¬ 
stone River, past Mud Geyser and Sulphur 
Mountain, until we found accommodations at 
Canon Hotel, the center of another district of 
wonders, where we tarried for three days, to 
employ our energies in taking views of the 
extraordinarily grand and awfully imposing 
natural objects which cluster hereabout in the 
Canon of the Yellowstone. 

A short distance from the hotel is Mount 
Washington, whose massive head is raised to 
a height of 10,500 feet above the sea; but so 
gradually sloping are its sides that an easy 
roadway has been made to the summit, which 
we ascended and from that lofty peak sur¬ 
veyed the vast landscape that was in the field 
of vision; and what a glorious panorama was 
there presented! We were indeed upon the 
topmost ridge of the Great Continental Divide, 
with the whole world apparently at our feet. 
Towards the far west and the distant south, 
as the range makes a sharp curve, were the 
high and snow-crested peaks of the Rocky 
Mountains, among which we readily distin¬ 
guished the majestic Tetons, upon which the 
sacred fires lighted by very ancient tribes of 
Indians are said to be still burning. To the 
northwest are the Madison and Gallatin 
Mountains, dropping gracefully towards the 
east until they form what appears to be the 
western walls of Yellowstone Valley, speckled 
with its hundreds of steam-vomiting springs. 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



BEAUTY SPRING FORMATION. 




GENERAL VIEW OF THE NORRIS BASIN GEYSERS. 








266 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


The mountainous aspect of the western view 
has its counterpart in the tumultuous land¬ 
scape which greets us on the east, for the 
horizon is broken, and the blue sky pierced 
by the Shoshone Range, which we follow 
towards the north as far as Emigrant Peak, 
as it thrusts its brazen front out of the 
Snowy Range. Still further west we per¬ 
ceive the outlines of the Stinking and Big 
Horn River Valleys, running in a north¬ 
westerly direction, past Fort Custer and 
the tragic Custer battle-field, until they 
merge into the Yellowstone Valley, two 
hundred miles from the park. In the clear 
depths of the far southwest we perceive a 
glitter in the tenuous atmosphere, which 
our glasses discover to us to be caused 
by snow on the Wind River Mountain 
peaks reflecting the brilliant sunlight. 
This magnificent range, that leaps out of 
the plains of Wyoming, and after running 
one hundred miles disappears again in the 
prairie, attains such a lofty altitude that 
the Wind River Shoshone tribe regard it 
as the crest of the world. And they have 
a legend, borrowed from the Blackfeet, that 
only one warrior ever reached the summits, 
from which he was permitted to look 
directly into the happy hunting grounds 
and survey all the entrancing beauties of 
that delectable land of happy spirits. But 
if the distant prospect is pleasing, how 
much more delightful is the wonder valley 
that lies at our feet! Rooking down from 
our exceeding high eminence, we behold 
with amazement the Grand Canon of the 
Yellowstone, a giganticgash in the mount¬ 
ains twenty miles in length, and watch the 
play of enormous waterfalls that swell the 
mighty chorus of nature. 



CRYSTAL CASCADE, 129 FEET HIGH. 







THE CRATER OF CASTLE GEYSER, YELLOWSTONE PARK 











268 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



Descending from Mount Washington, we proceeded by the roadway through a deep forest of pines until presently we gained the 
brink of a frightful chasm nearly 2,000 feet deep, over which the river poured in tremendous force and had a sheer drop of 140 feet. This 
is the Upper Falls, and a grand nature-picture they compose. But the magnificence of the scene is mightily increased less than half a mile 
below, where the canon walls rapidly contract and another greater precipice has been formed. Here the mad waters take a violent tumble 
of 350 feet, at Dower Falls, and are tossed up again in a mist that sometimes beclouds the valley. But recovering its force, the river plunges 
on with renewed energy, as the 
descent increases, until out of 
the gloomy depths it again 
emerges for one more final leap 
of 150 feet, at Tower Falls. 

While the falls are of 
extraordinary interest, they are 
not more than the worthy acces¬ 
sories of a canon which, though 
not the greatest, is in some 
respects the most sublime of any 
on the American continent. Mr. 

Archibald Geikie, an English 
scientist, has given the following 
admirable description of Yellow¬ 
stone Canon, admirable not only 
for its graphic picturing, but also 
because it is an Englishman’s 
confession that there is some¬ 
thing really grand in America: 

“Scrambling to the edge of 
one of the bastions and looking 
down, we could see the river far 
below, dwarfed to a mere silver 
thread. From this abyss the 
crags and slopes towered up in 
endless variety of form, and with 
the weirdest mingling of colors. 

Much of the rock, especially of 
the more crumbling slopes, was GIBBON FALLS ’ YELLOWSTONE PARK. 

of a pale sulphur-yellow. Through this groundwork harder masses of dull scarlet, merging into purple and crimson, rose into craggy 
knobs and pinnacles, or shot up in sheer vertical walls. In the sunlight of the morning the place is a blaze of strange color, such as one 
can hardly see anywhere save in the crater of an active volcano. But as the day wanes, the shades of evening, sinking gently into the 
depths, blend their livid tints into a strange, mysterious gloom, through which one can still see the white gleam of the rushing river and 
hear the distant murmur of its flow. Now is the time to see the full majesty of the canon. Perched on an outstanding crag, one can look 









GRAND CANON OF THE YELLOWSTONE 














2^6 


AMERICA'S WONDERLANDS. 



down the ravine and mark headland behind headland mounting out of the gathering shadows and catching upon their scarred fronts of red 
and yellow the mellower tints of the sinking sun. And above all lie the dark folds of pine sweeping along the crests of the precipices, 
which they crown with a rim of green. There are gorges of far more imposing magnitude in the Colorado Basin, but for dimensions large 
enough to be profoundly striking, yet not too vast to be taken in by the eye at once, for infinite changes of picturesque detail, and for 
brilliancy and endless variety of coloring, there are probably few scenes in the world more impressive than the Grand Canon of the 
Yellowstone.” Along the twenty miles of canon where the walls are highest they have been carved by glacial agencies and weather¬ 
worn into many curious forms, generally columnar, but sometimes presenting the appearance of spires, domes, turrets and crenelated 
battlements, and everywhere the matchless colors of yellow, red, green, and many tints are present. After passing down the extreme 
length of the canon, we took the less 
traveled road running east from 
Yancy’s Camp and visited the petrified 
forests; and here we began to compre¬ 
hend more thoroughly than before the 
mysteries of the Yellowstone Park 
Basin. The evidence is here abundant 
that in the remote past this entire region 
of 375 square miles was a pleasant vale, 
where a luxuriant forest abounded, and 
many monster animals, long since ex¬ 
tinct, found a pleasant abode. Follow¬ 
ing this period of delightful natural 
conditions, there succeeded a flood of 
ice that came sweeping with almost 
unimaginable force from the north, 
grinding, tearing and destroying until 
the region was denuded and the very 
earth furrowed and torn into the won¬ 
derful disfigurements which we now 
behold. In this terrific flood the 
mountains were precipitated and 
folded upon the forests and buried 
with the monster animals that had 
sought refuge in the spots which 


YELLOWSTONE RIVER, NEAR MUD GEYSER. 


became their cemeteries. In the rents thus made the grinding ice flowed until it reached the internal furnace of the world, which generating 
gases and steam, explosions followed that tore wider the earth’s womb and made the region a fiery cave. Into the devious caverns thus formed 
water from underground rivers continues to flow, over subterranean fires that convert it into steam, and thus at the many vents we observe 
the ever active, though constantly waning, energies of the volcano. 

But there have been two glacial drifts over a great part of North America, and the second ice-flood scoured the earth in such manner 
as to frequently uncover the forests and animal remains that were buried by the first great deluge. It is in the region of the Petrified and 
Fossil Forests that we note the evidence of the truth of this theory; not only in Yellowstone Park, but in the Bad Bands of Dakota, the 












TOWER FALLS, IN THE GRAND CANON. 








A PETRIFIED TREE IN THE BAD LANDS OF DAKOTA 






















274 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


dry lake basins of tlie Southwest and, in fact, in nearly every State of the Union. But in Yellowstone Park the remains of petrified trees 
are particularly numerous, and it is here that we observe the most beautiful specimens of chalcedony lying about in promiscuous profusion, 
like the ruins of some magnificent palace. Every tree here, overwhelmed by the ice-flood, became, in a thousand years thereafter, a pillar 
of the most exquisite beauty, and we now examine them with wondering curiosity, then convert them into articles of use and adornment. 

The same chemical action which changed the forests of this region into gem-like stone, also preserved the bones of many huge 
creatures which met their death sud¬ 
denly in this volcanic basin. Here and 
there specimen relics of gigantic ani¬ 
mals may be found in the fossil district 
east of Yellowstone River, though they 
are becoming scarce because of the 
immense quantity that has been carried 
away by scientific bone collectors and 
the admirers of curious things during 
the several years that the park has been 
a popular resort. 

In this same district there is a de¬ 
pression or basin, about three hundred 
yards in diameter, which has received 
the title of Death Valley, a designation 
that is appropriately applied because it 
is not only an ossuary, where the bones 
of many animals lie about in promiscu¬ 
ous profusion, but such noxious gases 
emanate from the basin that it is repre¬ 
sented as a place where no creature can 
survive the exhalations for more than 
a few minutes. 

Examination of the remains found 
therein reveals the fact that bears, 
deer, wolves, a mountain lion, and 
numerous small animals have died of 
asphyxiation in trying to pass over the 
accursed ground. But as these sulphur¬ 
ous gases have the power to kill, they 
have also, to a certain extent, the virtue to preserve, the bodies of creatures thus destroyed exhibiting slight evidences of decay for a month 
or more after death. On account of the danger attending a critical investigation of this noxious plague-spot, those who have visited the 
place have been compelled to exercise great caution, and to use field-glasses in making their examinations. One rash person is known to 
have attempted a passage of the basin, but he was unable to advance more than twenty yards, and had he not retained the presence of mind 
to hold his breath, when he found himself affected by the gas, escape from certain death would hardly have been possible. No scientific 



CRATER OF OBLONG GEYSER. 






BASALTIC CANON OF THE YELLOWSTONE 








LIMESTONE PINNACLES IN BIG HORN RIVER CANON 





















A RANCH ON THE LITTLE MISSOURI RIVER 


1 

S jM 



















278 AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 

investigator has ever visited the spot, so far as I have been able to learn, and reports of the deadly exhalations which characterize it 
therefore come from the few persons who have approached the place out of curiosity. It is also, and fortunately, no doubt, very difficult to 
reach, that portion of the Park being 
almost inaccessible by reason of the 
rugged topography, the jagged stones 
and almost impassable crevices which 
surround it. No roads have been 
surveyed in the locality, and only the 
intrepid, venturous and agile can reach 
the malignant basin, at the expense of 
great effort a:id endurance; for it is 
easier to climb the Tetons than to sur¬ 
mount the grim barriers which guard 
Death Valley. Assuming that the 
reports made by several persons who 
claim to have visited the spot are true, 
and which there is not lacking reason 
to believe, an explanation of its deadly 
character is not difficult to give, be¬ 
cause similar conditions, though in 
much lesser degree, are found in many 
localities within the Park. 

The geysers, such as are now 
active, are confined within a district 
whose radius does not exceed twenty- 
five miles, but there are uncpiestionable 
evidences that they were distributed 
over a much greater area before the 
last glacial epoch. Indeed, appear¬ 
ances indicate that at one time, in the 
very remote past, the whole present 
extent of the Park was occupied by 
either a sea of fire or a tremendous 
cluster of volcanoes. When the gla¬ 
cial catastrophe occurred the mount¬ 
ains on the north, whence the ice-flood 
descended, were pushed forward and 
deposited in the fiery basin. By this 
action the formerly mountainous lands to the north were leveled and became vast plains, as we now find them. The caldron of fiery activity 
was filled up by the material thus deposited, but confinement of the gases, which were being constantly generated, caused repeated explosions, 



GROTTO GEYSER. 







HARVEST SCENE ON DALRYMPLE’S FARM, NORTH DAKOTA. 













AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


280 

the results of which we find in the canons that ramify the district. It will not fail to escape the notice of the geologist that of the many 
rivers and streams that penetrate the Park, not one of them flows from the north, though immediately south of the Park the Snake River 
takes its rise, and has cut a way through the Teton Range that must have once opposed its passage. These mountains, as well as other 
ranges in the vicinity, are a part of the residue carried down by the glacial flood, and thus changed the slope, which was formerly towards 
the south, to a contrary direction. 

Several new basins were created by 
this enormous deposition, for it was 
impossible, by reason of the erup¬ 
tions caused by escaping gases, that 
the deposit should show equal dis¬ 
tribution. One of these basins is 
Death Valiev, which, originally a 
geyser or volcano, was suppressed 
by the glacial deposit, though the 
furnace which fed it was not extin¬ 
guished. The condition is there- 
fore like that of a charcoal kiln, 
which, burning beneath a covering 
of earth, still allows the smoke and 
gases to escape. But since the 
geysers are not produced by the 
consumption of combustible mate¬ 
rial, but by chemical decomposi¬ 
tion, though the action of fire and 
water, no smoke is created and thus 
none is seen escaping from the 
valley; but the deadly gases, all the 
more poisonous because of their 
temporary confinement, are con¬ 
stantly exuding through the earth¬ 
covering, having no connection 
with any active geyser through 
whose vent they might escape. 

Yellowstone Park has many 
natural curiosities which entitle it 
to rank as the greatest museum of 
wonders in the world; but it is to 
be doubted if the geysers, forma¬ 
tions of silica, and awe-compelling 
canons can equal the marvel of 



LONE STAR GEYSER CONE. 






























A HARVEST-FIELD IN DAKOTA. 




















282 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


Death Valley and the evidence which it supports of the glacial 
deluge that converted a sea of fire into a charmingly diversified 
wonderland. There is a grim connection between the fossil district 
in which the bones of so many extinct animals have been found so 
plentifully, and Death Valley, in which the remains of existent 
creatures attest the continued destructive result of the ice-flood. 
Truly, the ways of Providence are ways of mystery; and the more 
we contemplate them to satisfy the ambition of curiosity, the more 
we realize the incomprehensibility of the infinite, and that every 
advance step is an interrogation point in our lives. 

After making an examination of the petrified and fossil forests, 




THE BLACK GROWLER GEYSER. 


LITTLE FIRE-HOLE FALLS. 









*■ 


AN ENCAMPMENT OF SIOUX INDIANS, DAKOTA 















284 

we retraced our way and returned to Mam¬ 
moth Hot Springs Hotel by the road that 
leads to Clark’s Fork Mines, a route which 
I cannot recommend to dyspeptics, for it is 
worse than a jolting stool. A few hours’ 
stop at the hotel to arrange our baggage, 
and we resumed our journey eastward over 
the Northern Pacific, which thereafter runs 
through the apparently boundless plains of 
North Dakota. The road follows the Yel¬ 
lowstone from Livingstone to Glendive, a 
distance of 175 miles, but there is little di¬ 
versity in the landscape on the immediate 
line. Big Horn River intersects the road at 
Custer City, below which town, twenty miles, 
on the river, is Fort Custer; and the tragic 
field upon which Custer and his entire com¬ 
mand were slaughtered by the Sioux Indians 
is only twenty-five miles southeast of the 
fort. Everything hereabout appears to be 
a rueful reminder of that terrible 15th of 
July, 1870, for the name of Custer greets us 
everywhere we turn until we get beyond 
Miles City. Between this latter point and 
the Missouri River are the Bad Lands, 
extending over a large tract of country that 
includes both Montana and Dakota, but the 
formations, while curious, are not nearly so 
wonderful as those in Wyoming, described 
in an earlier chapter. Although the 
mounds, monuments and pillars of earth are 
less lofty, the district acquires a particular 
interest from the fact that interspersed among 
the earthen columns are the erect bodies of 
petrified trees, scarcely distinguishable, at a 
little distance, however, from the fantastic¬ 
ally eroded monoliths that are disposed like 
skirmishers over the otherwise level plain. 
These so-called Bad Lands, which reappear 
also in South Dakota, are not what the term 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 





KEPLER’S CASCADE, FIRE-HOLE RIVER. 


* 















BLACKFEET INDIAN CAMP. 



























286 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


would seem to signify for the land is not lacking in fertility, being frequently rich with loam, though more often extremely sandy or covered 
with soft sandstones that have been worn until they are round as cannon-balls. Indeed, Cannon-Ball River, which flows into the Missouri 
sixty miles south of Bismark, 
takes its name from the nu¬ 
merous round sandstones that 
are scattered along its banks. 

Five miles below is Standing 
Rock Agency of the Sioux, 
so called from a sandstone 
which stands some three feet 
tall, and by the Sioux is be¬ 
lieved to be a petrified squaw. 

Thus for a considerable dis¬ 
tance north and south, as well 
as east and west, peculiar for¬ 
mations characteristic of the 
Bad Lands are met with, fur¬ 
nishing proof that this area 
was once a forest, later a great 
salt sea, and then a plain, 
each representing a long 
period of time. 

When we pass James¬ 
town, coming east, we enter 
the wheat belt of Dakota and 
pass fields of growing grain 
like that of Dalrympie’s, 
which is fifty thousand acres 
iu extent. Here we come in 
contact with farming on a 
gigantic scale, and see the 
application of steam, not only 
for threshing, but for plow¬ 
ing, hauling and various other 
uses in which horses are gen¬ 
erally employed. 

Thence on to Minne¬ 
apolis the route is through a level country, crossing the Red River of the North at Fargo, and by many pretty lakes to Brainard, where the 
road branches, one division leading to Duluth, and the other taking a southwest course to St. Paul. 


<■! 



GIANT, CATFISH, AND YOUNG FAITHFUL CONES. 














PRAIRIE HOME OF A CREE INDIAN, NORTHERN MINNESOTA. 







K •< ’ 



FERRY ACROSS RED RIVER OF THE NORTH, NEAR FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA. 

















CHAPTER IX. 

AMONG THE WONDERS OF THE BLACK HILLS. 





OON after reaching St. Paul our party divided, two of our photographers being instructed to take views of the falls, lakes and river- 
scenery thereabouts, while the other set out with the camera car, over the Chicago, St. Paul and Omaha Railroad, to Sioux City, 
and thence by the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad to Deadwood. There is nothing of particular interest to 
entertain the traveler in search of scenic wonders until Iowa is crossed and we reach the Big Sioux River; nor is the immediate 
district about Sioux City one affording scenery of much importance. But at Dell Rapids, something more than one hundred miles 
north, we come in contact with some surprises which are without example, save in the Wisconsin River, hereafter to be described. 
The town derives its name from the remarkable freaks of nature displayed along the river-banks, and known as the Dells, and which are 

recognized as the safety-valves of the immense 
water-power at Dell Rapids. This picturesque 
stretch of fantastic bluffs and eccentric stream 
is thus described by a writer who recently 
made the passage in a canoe from Dell Rapids 
to Sioux Falls. 

“Beginning at a break in the Big Sioux 
River, on the south bank, opposite the town, 
at first the Dells present the appearance of a 
rivulet flowing out of the main body of water, 
taking a circuitous direction to re-unite with 
the parent stream some two and one-half 
miles further along its eccentric course. Yet 
only in the highest stages of its waters does 
the Sioux overflow the dam across the aperture 
between itself and the Dells, and it becomes 
instantly apparent that it is not from the river 
that this peculiar branch, which is not a 
branch, obtains its water supply. Investiga¬ 
tion determines that the Dells are fed by 
invisible springs, indefinite in number and 
indefinable in volume, which maintain in 
the bed of this curious stream an average 
depth of about eleven feet, although a much 
DELLS OF SIOUX RIVER. greater depth is found in various places. As LOVER S LEAP, DELLS OF THE SIOUX. 

you progress along the banks of the Dells, you notice increasing accumulations of the well-known Big Sioux quartzite, in its dull red and 
leaden colors; the banks grow more and more precipitous; the rocks are heaped strata upon strata in immeasurable quantities, and take on 
fantastic shapes and unusual formations; the Dells deepen into a gorge, far down into the bottom of which the waters, taking their hues 
289 19 




















290 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 




from the sky above them, creep along in almost imperceptible ripples. Overhead, pile on pile, hangs the rugged quartzite, shelving out 

over the liquid blue beneath; in the sides of the rocky banks innumerable swallows build their nests, while above them shrubbery clings 

and cacti grow, seemingly nurtured in a soil of adamant. Perhaps the highest perpendicular point, from the summits of the overhanging 

rocks to the waters below, is very nearly forty-five feet; but so precipitous is the descent, and so grotesquely wild the aspect, that it is no 

wonder the majority of tourists report the height much greater. Descending a fissure, gazing down which descent seemed impossible, the 

writer pushed off in a rude canoe and paddled for some distance under the overshadowing banks. Here, indeed, looking upward, the 

impression was intensified, for upheavals had torn these banks apart and given to them, with whimsical violence, their strangely weird 

formations.” Beyond Sioux City the country is monotonously level until, far in Nebraska, the road rushes into Elkhorn Canon and passes 

for a considerable distance between walls 

sometimes vertical, but never very high, and 

which lack the grandeur and coloring that 

characterize those of mountain streams. 

Emerging from Elkhorn Canon, the road runs 

for a long distance through the Niobrara 

Valley, though never close to that stream, 

until it crosses the river at Valentine. The 

southern line of South Dakota lies only a few 

miles north, and from Valentine west the 

road approaches to within twenty-five miles 

of the Rose-Bud and Pine Ridge Reservations, 

and of Wounded Knee, the scene of the last 

Indian insurrection, and of Pine Ridge 

Agency, where Sitting Bull was killed. 

Crossing White River at Dakota Junction, the 

road turns due north, and passing out of the 

plains of Nebraska enters the mountainous 

country known as the Black Hills, at Buffalo 

Gap. On the east are the Mauvais Torres, 

or Bad Lands of South Dakota, which extend 

west to the South Fork of Cheyenne River, 

while towards the west is the rugous, rough 

and riotous district known as the Black Hills. 

THE DEVIL’S NOTCH, DELLS OF THE SIOUX. M Bu£Wo Gap connectkm is made with DANGER ROCK, DELLS OF THE SIOUX. 

a narrow-gauge spur of the main line of road, which runs southwesterly a distance of fifteen miles and terminates at the Minnekahta, or 
Hot Springs. In making this run we pass through a mighty gorge whose age-swept and vertical walls climb up, stratum upon stratum, to 
a height of several hundred feet, and then break into spear-pointed peaks, called the “ Needles.” This is Fall River Canon, noted for its 
spires, parti-colored walls, and beautiful waterfalls that leap from a hundred brinks into the arms of the rushing river. That this is a land 
of gold is not better proved by the fact that the Black Hills were purchased of the Sioux by the Government in 1876, at the enormous price 
of $70,000,000 and support of the Indians for seven generations, than that the output of the several gold and silver mines of the district 
exceeds $100,000,000; verily, a richer land than Ophir. 












SIGNAL ROCK, ELKHORN CANON, 







292 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



Turning back, we resumed our journey northward over the Klkhorn road, and passed through many miles of the most magnificent 
scenery to be found anywhere on the American Continent. The entire region is mountain infested, and to penetrate it by rail the road is 
compelled to follow the almost interminable sinuosities of creeks and broken valleys, with tunnels every few miles, and bridges quite as 
frequent. Through Fan-Tail Gulch the road winds in tortuous ways that sometimes draw grotesque figures, and in one place the road-bed 
is of the exact shape of a horseshoe, while on both sides of Elk Creek Canon there are butting and pinnacled walls that suggest ruins of 
gigantic cathedrals, or monu¬ 
ments in a graveyard of Titans. 

Everywhere we turn there is 
the carving and hieroglyphic 
writing of the glacier and the 
volcano that in some age 
wrestled with the rocks and left 
them in a confusion of whimsi¬ 
cal forms. Particularly is this 
true of Elk Creek Canon, which 
presents many curious bluffs 
and isolated shafts of stone, 
worn into monoliths of oddity 
by wind and water. 

After passing Piedmont the 
region is less rugged and gradu¬ 
ally falls away into a plain, 
dotted here and there with 
buttes of clay, some of them 
reaching a height of fifty feet, 
and in the distance resembling 
large buildings. Fort Meade 
and Bear Butte are on the right 
as we make a turn towards the 
w r est, then run south, until we 
enter Deadwood, which lies at 
the gnarled and bunioned feet 
of the Hills. We have scarcely 
been out of a canon since leav¬ 
ing Hot Springs, but at Dead- 

wood the granite walls that have become so familiar slope away until they become hills of slate and red clay, which have been denuded of 
their vestures of pine to supply fuel for the reduction mills. Through one of the last rifts in the walls that confine the track of the railroad 
a glimpse of Central City is obtained, several miles away, and a few minutes later we roll into the great mining town that is celebrated for 
its wealth, energy, golden prospects, and as being the place where Wild Bill was killed, and Calamity Jane broke the biggest faro bank in 
the settlement. Though Deadwood is only sixteen years old, few cities have passed through so many terrible vicissitudes. In 1876 the 


CABINET GORGE, DELLS OF THE SIOUX RIVER. 







NEEDLE POINTS, NEAR HARNEY’S PEAK, BLACK HILLS. 














294 

gold prospectors in the Hills were harried 
by Indians; then when the district was 
purchased and active settlement began, 
gamblers and shady women flocked to the 
place, considering that every honest per¬ 
son was legitimate prey, until the vigi¬ 
lantes restored order. Building was rapid, 
so that three years after the miners staked 
their first claims in the Hills, Deadwood 
had become a place of 5,000 inhabitants 
and was rapidly flowering into a great 
city. Then a dreadful fire broke out, 
which ravaged and swept the town, leav¬ 
ing scarcely a house uninjured, and 
nearly every citizen homeless. The loss 
was estimated at $1,500,000, but in its 
effects the loss was probably twice that 
amount. But with that courageous energy 
which characterizes western settlements, 
the people went to work to rebuild before 
even the embers had turned to ashes, and 
by 1883, Deadwood was a second time 
showing a metropolitan bud. She had 
emerged from the crucible, but fate had 
resolved that she should be subjected to 
another ordeal. Accordingly, the elements 
gathered their forces all around upon the 
mountains and in the gulches. For weeks 
unprecedented snow - storms bombarded 
the country and covered it to an extraordi¬ 
nary depth. Then the windows of heaven 
were opened and the rain descended. Day 
and night a terrific down-pour continued, 
followed directly by a flood that struck 
the town from every direction, and with 
irresistible might washed nearly every 
building from its foundation, leaving even 
small opportunity for the unhappy people 
to escape to the hills. But though the 
town was twice destroyed, the citizens 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



CATHEDRAL ROCK, IN ELK CREEK CANON, BLACK HILLS. 






THE SUMMIT OF HARNEY’S PEAK, BLACK HILLS. 















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


296 



lost none of their pluck, and before the cruel waters were fully assuaged they resumed the work of building again on the same twice stricken 
site, and have so continued until Deadwood is fortified against calamity and is moving on at the head of the procession, with colors flying 
and drums beating, the capital city of a capital country. 

There are many interesting points within a few miles of Deadwood; for aside from the rugged character of the scenery, in the near vicinity 
are several of the largest wealth- 
producing mines in the world. 

The trip to Bald Mountain over 
the Fremont, Elkhorn and Mis¬ 
souri Valley narrow-gauge Road 
is one filled with pleasure and 
surprise. The way is almost 
incomparably winding, and ex¬ 
hibits remarkable examples of 
engineering skill and enormous 
investment. In several places 
the grade is four hundred and 
thirty feet to the mile, while 
the curves are said to be of one 
hundred and fifty feet radius. 

Passing up such grades and 
around such sharp turns, it is not 
sosurprisingthatthe train should 
in one minute be running along 
lofty benches, apparently in 
mid-air, over dizzy trestles, and 
in the next few moments be 
scurrying through a valley so 
deep that sunlight rarely ever 
visits it. North of Bald Mount¬ 
ain, and reached by a stage¬ 
line, are Crow Peak, Round-Top. 

Mountain, and the town of 
Spearfish. This latter place is 
located on a creek of the same 
name that goes tumbling 
through a deep canon with ver¬ 
tical, serrated walls, and diver- 


VIEW OF BEAR BUTTE, AT A DISTANCE OF FORTY-SIX MILES FROM THE ROAD, IN FAN-TAIL GULCH. 

Returning to Deadwood, we took the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad south 


sified by roaring cascades and far-leaping waterfalls, 
through another long stretch of turbulent scenery, of rushing creeks, darksome gorges, under the shadows of lofty mountains, and by curious 
formations. Custer Peak is only two or three miles east of the road, and it is the center of a riotous region of broken stone, each one a very 






















HARNEY’S PEAK, BLACK HILLS. 
















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


298 



mountain of itself. Below, we strike Spring Creek, and go bowling along the valley cut out of the hills by that stream, until Harney’s Peak 
breaks into view, five miles to the east, and lifts its piney crest into the azure depths 8,000 feet. Hereabout are not only waterfalls, 
canons, creeks, and huge bowlders dashed down from frost-riven peaks, for besides gold and silver, the region is said to abound with tin, 
that peculiarly elusive mineral 
which, though often found, 
seems to always dematerialize 
after the campaign is over; an 
though millions have been spent 
in developing the tin mines 
near Harney, the product has 
not yet paid the expense of 
mining. Three miles south of 
the peak are the Needles, bold- 
jutting pinnacles of sandstone 
that stand high above the bed 
of Squaw Creek and point their 
fingers toward the sky. Buck- 
horn Mountain stands very 
near the west side of the road, 
and close to its base reposes the 
town of Custer, the center of a 
broken district called Custer 
Park, famous for its scenery of 
river, tumultuary and distorted 
rocks over which a weasel can 
hardly make its way. A little 
further south we enter Red 
Canon Creek, where the same 
general character of eroded and 
disrupted rocks continues, with 
occasional exhibitions of oddity 
exceeding those previously seen 
in the Hills. Evidently some 
terrific force has been at work 
in this uncanny region, for here 
and there our wonder is excited 
by extraordinary instances -of 
displacement. Beecher Rocks 
are comicalities done in stone, 

but Wedge Rock must wear the THE HORSESHOE IN ELK CREEK CANON. 





* 



* 


WEDGE ROCK, NEAR CUSTER. 














300 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


garland as the most astounding 
example of natural tumult in 
this wonder-region, and which 
can be better understood by the 
accompanying illustration, than 
explained by the bare use of 
words. 

But the country is not only 
rugged and mountain-spurred; 
it possesses curiosities even 
greater beneath the surface than 
those which diversify the sun- 
lcissed landscape over which 
we have just passed. On Elk 
Creek, and entered from the 
canon wall, is Keith’s Crystal 
Cave, a colossal rent in the 
mountain bowels, with passages 
fifteen miles in length. It is 
beautifully chambered, from 
which depend the most exquisite 
crystallizations in the form of 
stalactites and stalagmites that 
reflect the torchlight in glorious 
colors, dancing from column of 
onyx to pools of pellucid water. 

But a more remarkable cave 
than Keith’s is found a little 
way west of Custer, and twelve 
miles north of Hot Springs. 
This marvelous natural excava¬ 
tion is ramified by many pas¬ 
sages which have been explored 
for a distance of sixtv-five miles, 
and the end is not yet. On 
account of the peculiar respira¬ 
tion of the cave, the air at one 
time rushing in with great veloc¬ 
ity and again being expelled 
with equal force, it is called 



BEECHER ROCKS, NEAR CUSTER CITY. 











A CHAMBER IN CRYSTAL CAVE, BLACK HILLS. 










302 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



the Wind Cave; and no better name can be bestowed, for the cause of this inrushing and regurgitation of air seems to be beyond ascertain¬ 
ment. Like its more northerly cousin, Wind Cave is chambered and adorned with beautiful crystals that shimmer under the glances of 
the torch and are set aflame with color, with here and there such graceful formations as to suggest studios of monster sculptors. 

Continuing our way south¬ 
ward to the junction of the 
Wyoming Division, in Fall 
River county, we turned north 
on that small branch whose 
temporary terminus is Merino, 
at which point a team was en¬ 
gaged to take us to what is truly 
one of the seven wonders of the 
world. In our trip of several 
thousand miles through the 
mountainous regions of the 
great West, we had seen and 
photographed many extraordi¬ 
nary and startling prodigies of 
nature, so that all sentiment of 
awe, surprise and admiration 
had been aroused, but we were 
now to be confronted by a mira¬ 
cle in stone that confounded 
and mingled all feelings of 
wonderment and fascination 
into stupefaction of bewildered 
senses. 

We had to travel about 
twenty-five miles across a fairly 
level stretch of country before 
reaching the Belle Fourche 
River, a main branch of the 
Cheyenne, on the west bank of 
which is located this marvelous 
monument of the ages, which 
for its astounding size and un¬ 
accountable formation is called 
the Devil’s Tower. Among the 
Sioux Indians, who have always 

regarded it with superstitious THE CHANCEL. CRYSTAL CAVE. BLACK HILLS. 










DEVIL’S THUMB, CUSTER PARK, NEAR CUSTER CITY. 


















304 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



dread, it is known as tke Mateo’s Tepee, signifying the Bear’s Lodge, and was by them supposed to be the haunt of a were-animal, who 
possessed the power of becoming a bear or man at pleasure. The country within a radius of fifty miles is slightly broken by high table-lands, 
but there is nothing to indicate 
any special spasm of nature by 
which so great a freak might 
have been formed; yet out of 
this undulating expanse of land¬ 
scape suddenly rises a stupend¬ 
ous obelisk of vitrified stone, to 
the amazing height of eight 
hundred feet. The base, which 
measures 326 feet at its longest 
diameter, is 400 feet above the 
river-bed, which in turn is 500 
feet above sea level. Thus meas¬ 
ured, the peak of this amazing 
tower is 1,700 feet above the 
sea; no surprise therefore that 
it is visible for a distance of 
forty miles. But the wonder 
which such a colossal shaft 
naturally excites is immensely 
increased by the fact that the 
Devil’s Tower is a composition 
of huge crystals of basalt, or 
volcanic rock, which lie in col¬ 
umns some three feet in diame¬ 
ter, and continue unbroken from 
the base to the peak, giving to 
it a fibrous appearance. The 
walls are almost vertical, with 
a slightly vertical slope, to give 
it a more graceful contour, and 
though there are occasional rifts 
in the sides, no human being, 
however skilful as a spire- 
climber, can ever accomplish 
its ascent. 


THE DEVIL’S CHAIR, ST. CROIX RIVER. 


The enquiry is irresistible: “What wondrous force created this petrified monster of the Wyoming table-lands?” One plausible 
answer may be built upon the theory that here, at one time, was the bed of an ocean, a supposition supported by such evidences as the 






THE DEVIL’S TOWER OF VITRIFIED ROCK, 800 FEET HIGH. 


















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


306 



finding of sea-sliells and bones of extinct sea-creatures all about over the ground, and deeply embedded in the earth throughout the section. 
When the waters receded, this inequality, which might have existed as an island, was left as the product of volcanic action. But a yet more 
reasonable cause may be found in the supposition that along the Belle Fourche was the center of intense volcanic energy sometime during 
the very remote past, during which period the spot occupied by the tower was a volcano-vent out of which poured lava in such a slow and 
steady flow that it deposited in basaltic columnar crystals at the apex. Thus gradually it grew in size and height, like many of the 
formations in Yellowstone Park, until the volcano had expended its force and left this vast monument as an everlasting evidence of its 
persistence through centuries of activity. But however it was formed, the Devil’s Tower takes a place in the first list of the world’s 
greatest natural wonders, and it deserves to be 
much better known than it is. 

Returning from a long and very wearying 
ride to the Tower, we again took the Burling¬ 
ton Road, retracing much of the way we had 
come, and proceeded to Crawford, Nebraska, 
in order to view two famous curiosities known 
as Crow Butte and Signal Rock, which are 
near that town. Fort Robinson post and mili¬ 
tary reservation are a mile west, on White 
River, and the country is picturesque with 
buttes, which rise out of the prairie lands in 
singular impertinence and unseemliness, while 
considerable bluffs confine the river. The ter¬ 
ritory was for many years the scene of bitter 
strifes between the Sioux and Crow Indians, 
who reddened nearly every acre of the ground 
with their blood, and left remembrances of their 
occupancy and incidents of their adventures 
in names which they gave to a hundred points 
in the near vicinity of Crawford. South of the 
town, about five miles, a conspicuous object in 
a w r ide range is Crow Butte, a titanic eleva¬ 
tion of stone, nearly two hundred feet in height 
and several hundred yards in circumference, 
with vertical walls on all sides except one, in 
which there is a winding-way by which a horseman may ride to the top. The legend is told that on one occasion a party of Crow Indians 
were so savagely pursued by their old enemies that they took refuge on the top of Crow Butte, where, though much fewer in number, they 
so valorously defended the narrow roadway that the Sioux w r ere driven back each time they attempted to gain the summit. Being unable 
to dislodge them, the Sioux resolved to besiege the Crows until starvation compelled them to surrender. For several days and nights the 
siege continued, until at length hunger drove the Crows to a desperate expedient. Watching their time, when the night was darkest, thev 
killed some of their ponies, and converting their hides into lariats, lowered one after another of their number to the ground below on the 
opposite side of the butte, until all but one old Indian had been safely delivered, who was left a while to keep the camp-fire burning. On 


TEA-TABLE ROCK, WISCONSIN RIVER. 









DOME ROCKS, IN CUSTER PARK, SOUTH DAKOTA. 

















3o8 

the following day the old man came down 
and surrendered himself to the Sionx, and 
related to them the wonderful means by which 
his comrades had escaped. Instead of killing 
him, as might have been expected, on this 
one occasion the Sioux magnanimously gave 
him his liberty as a recompense for the loyalty 
and bravery which he had exhibited. 

Signal Rock is only a short distance from 
Crow Butte, and is a similar formation, though 
not nearly so large; and while the summit is 
nearly as high, it is peaked and not difficult 
to reach. It derives its name from the use 
to which it was frequently put by the Indians 
in previous years, who by means of fire at 
night were able to signal to their friends as 



SQUAW’S CHAMBER, DELLS of the WISCONSIN. 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



THE NARROWS, DELLS of the WISCONSIN. 


of some of the most charming natural wonders 
that first attracted public interest to the vast 
Northwest. The head of navigation on the 
Mississippi is unalterably fixed at St. Paul, 
for above that point the river is a brawling 
stream, flowing over ledges and rushing 
through contracted passages lined with bluffs. 
At Minneapolis are the Falls of St. Anthony, 
but no longer do these present the furious 
aspect which once characterized them, for 
the wild riot of turbulent waters that formerly 
went dashing over a high brink with a roar 
that made the shore to tremble, have been 
harnessed, and are now driven over sloping 
tables so as to glide softly into the bed below. 
The channel, too, has been cut and buttressed 


far away as the Bad Lands of South Dakota. 

The Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri 
River Road crosses the Burlington at Craw¬ 
ford, and our work of photographing the 
Black Hills district being completed, the trip 
back to St. Paul was made, and a junction 
with other members of the expedition was 
formed, whose artist labors have already been 
described. 

The twin cities of St. Paul and Minne¬ 
apolis represent the intrusion of civilization 
upon the primeval lands of romance, and thus 
while we admire the imposing wealth and 
architectural beauties of these great metropoli, 
we cannot avoid a feeling of semi-regret that 
they have grown at the expense and sacrifice 



CASTLE TOWER, DELLS of the WISCONSIN. 




















■* 



CROW BUTTE AND SIGNAL ROCK, DAWES COUNTY, NEBRASKA, 

















3i° 

with masonry, so that the strong right arm 
of the falls is made a servant of commerce in 
supplying the motive-power for many im¬ 
mense flouring mills. 

The siglit-seer turns with feelings of dis¬ 
appointment at the artificial appearance of 
St. Anthony’s Falls, and seeking the wonders 
of nature unadorned, drives over to Minne¬ 
haha’s sylvan solitudes, but upon which, 
alas, the encroachments of sacrilegious im¬ 
provements characteristic of city extension 
are now apparent. But the voice of its falling 
waters is still attuned to the rhythm of the 
poet that sang it into fame. Down through 
flower-sprinkled meadows purls and gambols 


SKYLIGHT CAVE, DELLS OF THE WISCONSIN. 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


CLIFF NEAR MOUTH OF WITCHES’ GULCH. 

“ Paused to purchase heads of arrows 
Of the ancient Arrow-maker, 

In the land of the Dacotahs, 

Where the Falls of Minnehaha 
Flash and gleam among the oak-trees, 

Laugh and leap into the valley. 

There the ancient Arrow-maker 
Made his arrow-heads of sandstone, 
Arrow-heads of chalcedony. 

Arrow-heads of flint and jasper, 

Smoothed and sharpened at the edges, 

Hard and polished, keen and costly.” 

But no one with a love for the picturesque 
can close an eye to the fairy-like beauty 
of Minnehaha, as it pours over a crescent 
brink in a sheet of gauze, so thin that the 
wall behind loses little of its distinctness, and 
the rocks upon which the water breaks are 


a silver stream, slaking the thirst of the linnet 
and bathing the feet of the dove, until wear}’ 
of the sunshine it spreads itself over a ledge 
like a veil of gossamer and drops into the 
cool shades that welcome its embraces. The 
Falls of Minnehaha are an example of that 
coy and quiet comportment which sometimes 
blushes into notoriety, for no one with less 
imagery than a poet would discover the sub¬ 
limity of its aspect, or the artfulness of its 
graces. It is to Longfellow, therefore, that we 
owe the immortality with which these laugh¬ 
ing waters are invested, and the imperishable 
fame of Hiawatha, who, while in quest of 
better weapons 


HAWK’S BILL, DELLS OF THE WISCONSIN. 




















FALLS OF ST. ANTHONY. 






























312 

refreshed like the head of a babe at its chris¬ 
tening. A lace curtain is not more delicate, 
and thistle-down is scarcely more dainty, as 
the illustration shows. 

The eroding fingers of percolating waters 
have worn the soft rock behind the fall, until 
a shelf is formed that extends three or four 
feet beyond the face of the wall. Visitors 
may therefore pass under this shelf and look 
outward through the transparent liquid sheet 
as it pours in a broad but tenuous stream, not 
unlike valencienne drapery gently agitated. 
A pathway leads from the falls down a grace¬ 
fully embowered ravine to spots so temptingly 
secluded that maidens never wander there 
that love does not follow; and so many darts 



THE FAIRIES’ RETREAT, Dells of the Wisconsin. 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



WITCHES’ GULCH, Dells of the Wisconsin. 


fall, which though charming, cannot compete 
for interest with some of the natural marvels 
that exist in the neighbor State of Wisconsin. 

St. Croix River separates the two States 
and is a stream that exhibits both curious 
and exquisite formations along many miles of 
its banks, and but for the vast logging inter¬ 
ests which it so admirably serves, penetrating 
as it does the great pine region, the river 
would be filled with pleasure-crafts throughout 
the summer, carrying tourists in and out 
among its dells and fairy-like grottos. 

The bluffs of sandstone are a source of 
unending surprise, rising out of the water so 
nearly perpendicular that they defy all effort 
to scale them, and present a front like the 


have been hurled at wooing swains in this 
romantic dell that I am almost persuaded to 
believe that it was not Hiawatha, but Cupid, 
who came here to get his arrows. 

But if Minnehaha is beautiful in spring¬ 
time, it is sublime when folded in the crystal 
arms of winter, a frozen cascade of puffs and 
snow-balls, hibernating after its season of 
sporting, awaiting the return of bird, flower 
and lover. Not far away are lakes of various 
sizes, like Minnetonka and Great Bear, to 
which thousands resort when sultry winds 
blow and the blazing sun of summer-time 
drives sweltering humanity to such cool 
retreats. But the beauties of this northern 
region are not exhausted by lake and water- 



WHIRLPOOL CHAMBER, Dells of the Wisconsin. 























MINNEHAHA FALLS IN SUMMER 


ROMANCE CLIFF, DELLS OF THE ST. CROIX RIVER 




















3 X 4 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


walled cities of ancient times. Nature has not left them 
undisturbed, either, for their toussled brinks and seared sides 
show the finger-marks of frost in deep fissures and eccentric 
cleavages, while here and there fantastic images of stone 
stand like grim sentinels on commanding ledges, keeping 
unwearied watch upon the industrious river. Most curious 
of these erratic formations is the Devil’s Chair, which the 
Chippewa Indians verily believe was one time the resting- 
place of his sable majesty, probably when he went fishing. 
Anyhow, the rock bears the autographs of many adventurous 
persons who have been there to see. The fishing certainly 
was very good in this spot before Wisconsin lumbermen 
filled the stream so full of pine-logs that not even the devil 
himself could keep his line from fouling. 

East of the St. Croix is Chippewa River, flowing in the 
same general direction, but aside from being a pretty stream 
it has nothing to specially interest tourists, for the banks 
gently shelve, and where stone appears it is in thin layers, 
and the shore-line never rises to the dignity of bluffs. But 
the Chippewa Indians, though now small in numbers, still 
retain their ancient homes in the vicinity of the stream, 
which, because of its shallowness, is not used as extensively 
as the St. Croix for shooting logs to the Mississippi. Though 
surrounded by a vigorous civilization, these Indians, if we 
except their clothing, exhibit little change from their origi¬ 
nal customs and manners of living, subsisting by hunting, 
fishing, and gathering berries for the neighboring markets. 
They still make birch-bark canoes, like their forefathers, and 
in a way, too, that white men do not appear to be able to 
imitate. Specimens of their deft work are on sale in all the 
towns of Wisconsin, from which source they derive no 
little profit. 

In the eastern part of the State, in Howano county, lives 
a small tribe called the Menomines, who are in what may be 
called the transition period, for their manner of living is a 
composite of modern ways and ancient usage and belief. 
Some of the Menomines appear to be thoroughly civilized, at 
least so far as outward indications show, while the patriarchs 
of the tribe remain steadfast in the faith of their fathers. 
They have lost none of their confidence in the Medicine Man, 



SIGNAL ROCK, NEAR CAMP DOUGLAS, WISCONSIN. 







MINNEHAHA FALLS IN WINTER 












3i6 

whose counsel in political affairs is as impor¬ 
tant as their influence over diseases of the 
body is pronounced. 

A Medicine Man being questioned as to 
how the power which he claimed was con¬ 
ferred, answered thus: 

“My heart told me that I should be a 
Medicine Man, and I went out upon a mountain 
and fasted and prayed for two days, awaiting 
a sign from the Great Spirit. At the end of 
the second day, as the sun was going to 
sleep, I saw a great light which blinded my 
eyes, and heard a noise as of the rushing of 
many waters. I looked around again, and 
about me were four animals—a black-tailed 
deer, a white-tailed deer, a wolf and a buffalo. 



HORNET’S NEST, DELLS OF THE WISCONSIN. 


AMERICA'S WONDERLANDS. 



CLEOPATRA’S NEEDLE, DEVIL’S LAKE. 


of their superstitions. They still believe in 
Medicine Men, and indulge in what is known 
as the Medicine Dance, but only at the time 
of the initiation of new candidates for such 
honors; and their doctors must now be the 
possessors of more or less medical knowledge, 
and be able to read and write. The ceremony 
is too long and tedious to describe, but the 
most superficial observer cannot fail to detect 
through it all the influence of contact with 
civilization. 

The Ojibways are another remnant of the 
great Indian tribes of the Northwest, whose 
homes are in Polk county, in the vicinity of 
Balsam Lake, a pretty sheet of water in a 
wild district, where fishing is good and game 


They all spoke the speech of men. They 
said that the Great Spirit had heard my 
prayer and had sent them to me. The ani¬ 
mals then took me over the prairies and told 
me what plants were hurtful and what were 
good for my people. They told me what 
diseases of men the good herb would cure, 
and then they vanished as suddenly as they 
came. I returned to my people, told the 
chiefs what I had seen, was made and have 
since been a Medicine Man.” 

But the transition from savage supersti¬ 
tion to civilized modes is apparent among the 
Menomines, not only in the adoption of mod¬ 
ern clothing, houses, household utensils and 
Christian ideas; it appears also in the change 



CLEFT ROCK. DEVIL’S LAKE, WISCONSIN. 



























FOOT AND WAGON BRIDGE OVER THE ST. CROIX RIVER, WISCONSIN. 





























CHIPPEWA INDIANS, OF WISCONSIN, BUILDING A BIRCH-BARK CANOE. 





























•v 



A CANDIDATE FOR MEDICINE MAN BEFORE A COUNCIL OF MENOMINE INDIANS. 


















320 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


*** 



still fairly abundant. One peculiarity of these Indians is the sacredness with which they regard their dead, and the care they take to 
preserve the bodies of relatives from violation. They are content to house themselves, even through the severest winters, in the flimsiest 
structures, which afford very little shelter from the cold, but their dead they carefully wrap in blankets and deposit them in small oblong 
houses that are made to perfectly exclude rain, snow and cold, except such as may enter by a square little door in one end. These miniature 
mortuary houses are placed close to the homes of the living, that a better watch may be kept upon them; but what superstitious motive 
prompts this custom, I have not been able to learn. 

Wisconsin is very justly famous for many things: its semi-civilized Indian tribes, its lakes, dense pine forests, and above all for its 
wondrous scenery, particularly 
along the Wisconsin River, 
where wonders the equal of 
those to be seen in Watkins’ 

Glen, New York, are met with 
in rapid succession some six 
miles north and south of Kil- 
bourn City. It was to Kilbourn 
City, therefore, that we pro¬ 
ceeded, by way of the Chicago, 

Milwaukee and St. Paul Rail¬ 
road, to view and photograph 
the truly marvelous scenery 
and whimsically erratic forma¬ 
tions that characterize that 
section of the river known as 
the Dells. The river is deep, 
but at places so tortuously nar¬ 
row between projecting elbows 
of the limestone walls that only 
such a dimity and fairy-like 
steamboat as the Dell Queen 
can thread a passage, and we 
accordingly committed our¬ 
selves to this frail little craft 
for the trip which is made by 

tourists first to the Upper Dells, eight miles above the city, and then to the Dower Dells, which are three miles below. For many, many 
centuries the Wisconsin, probably always a rapid stream, has rasped its soft Potsdam sandstone-bed, and constantly wearing its shore, has 
finally carved out a way that is fantastically curious. Now the stream rolls laughing along under vertical walls sometimes a hundred feet 
high, and wrought into the most weirdly grotesque forms imaginable. All along, its capricious course is marked by caves, caverns, grottos, 
glens, and eccentric pillars of stone that are as humorously dressed as a zany in caps and bells. In making the ascent from Kilbourn City 
one of the first objects to arrest attention is “Angel Rock,” whose broad stretch of petrified wing is said to guard against intrusion into the 
spectral haunts that lie beyond. “Swallow’s Fortress” next appears, a perpendicular wall of very great height, and unbroken length of 


THE SUGAR-BOWL, DELLS OF THE WISCONSIN. 












WINTER CAMP AND BURIAL HOUSE OF OJIBWAY INDIANS. 


21 









322 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



two hundred feet, garrisoned by myriads of swallows that have perforated the face until it looks like the lid of a huge pepper-box. Having 
passed this castle of many loop-holes, we enter a section where “Romance Cliffs” pays eternal greetings to “High Rock,” with their 
strange configurations and picturesque statuary; a spot that is favored by speckled trout as it is by lovers. “Chimney Rock” next bursts 
into view, built up of as many strata as a tower of pan-cakes, which from a distance the chimney somewhat resembles. From the “Gate’s 
Ravine” there is a splendid sight of “ Sturgeon Rock,” which is so perfectly reflected as to appear twice its natural size. Why it is called 
Sturgeon Rock not even tradition tells us; but it is manifest in many cases that those who bestowed names upon these pictorial surprises 
were so arbitrary as to be indifferent to appropriateness, like the colored woman who called her first-born Beelzebub, because she heard that 
some prince bore that name. 

At a place where the river 
broadens, and the left shore 
spreads into a long level covered 
with willows, while the right 
bank continues its precipitous 
career, there is a wide extension- 
table projecting from the wall 
which is called “Visor hedge, 
of Stand Rock.” This jutting 
point is admirably designed for 
a jumping-off place, and it is a 
matter for surprise that it was 
not christened Lover’s Leap, 
like all other similar ledges and 
shelves that I have seen. Be¬ 
yond this the 


narrows, and singular efflores¬ 
cences of stone, like a garden 
of flowering curios, wrap our 
attention with questioning sur¬ 
prise. “The Hawk’s Bill” is 
certain to catch our notice, and 
equally sure to excite our won¬ 
der that it was not called the 
“Toothless Old Man,” for it 
does seem that he might make a 
nut-cracker of his nose and chin. 


OCONOMONOC FALLS, WISCONSIN. 


“Black Hawk’s Leap” must be accepted as a poor substitute for the “Lover’s Jump,” but as the latter 
has no place on Wisconsin River the former name has been applied to a section of pictured wall that is excavated at the base, and in which 
the gurgle of water is accentuated by echo into ominous noises. This natural excavation is called Black Hawk’s Cave, and is said to have 
been the place of retreat of a vanquished party of Indians, who were murderously pursued by a large number of their enemies, but memory 
fails to recall the particulars. A little further beyond is another grotto of still more remarkable formation, called “Cave of the Dark 
Waters,” and rightly it is named, for the entrance is by a small portal into a commodious chamber whose first most noticeable characteristic 









BELEAGUERED CASTLE, CAMP DOUGLAS, WISCONSIN 














324 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



is its darkness. The water is deep throughout, and continually suggests the advantages of the cave as a place in which to commit crime, 
or to kiss your girl while passing through a dark tunnel. 

It is a positive relief from the oppression which entrance to the Dark Waters Cave produces to be hailed, after emerging, by a sturdy 
little stone island with a tossing crest of pine, which some Sweet William has named the “Sugar-Bowl.” It is all the more refreshing 
because islands in the river are exceedingly scarce, and this diversity of landscape is accordingly doubly appreciated. 

Still further beyond is the “Mouth of Witches’ Gulch,” commanded by picturesque cliffs that show the teeth-marks and lacerations 
of the gnawing waters. So romantic is the spot, and so inviting the little saucer-shaped beach of white sand, that all the pleasure-boats 
that ply in the Dells make a 
landing here and give their pas¬ 
sengers opportunity to go on 
shore and carve their names on 
the terraced walls. So many 
persons had been there before 
us, however, that barely space 
was found to write a pencil 
autograph. 

Another stop is made at 
“Cold Water Canon,” usually 
dry, but through which the river 
pours in an impetuous torrent 
during high water. Hereabout 
are also glens and other curious 
excavations, among which is a 
hollow formation seventy feet 
high and fifty broad, called the 
“Devil’s Jug.” Another run 
of less than a mile brings us to 
“Steamboat Rock,” an oval 
island covered with hemlock 
and mountain cedars, opposite 
to which a third landing is 
made, and ascending three 
flights of stairs to gain the sum¬ 
mit of the cliffs, across a stretch 


CAVE OF THE DARK WATERS, LAKE SUPERIOR. 


of woods, and descending a steep, rocky ledge,we find ourselves at the superlative wonder of the Dells—Witches’ Gulch. Abruptly arriving 
at the entrance of the gulch, above which 189 feet, in a projecting rock, may be seen the wry, unmistakable features of a tousled old hag, 
the queen of the witches, so ominously frowning on forms and faces below. Without the slightest exaggeration it certainly is one of the 
most wonderful, w r eird and peculiar places on this continent.' 

Entering the gulch, we look up—far up—and catch glimpses of sunlight and see huge pines prostrate and lying from one ledge to 
another, admonishing us to look well to our going. After many, many windings, we come into “Phantom Chamber,” and in the side of a 







MINER’S FALLS, LAKE SUPERIOR 



WHITE ROCK, LAKE SUPERIOR, 


















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


326 

rocky ledge, scooped out, as if by hand, find 
a natural basin, and take a drink of the cool 
spring water gurgling out of tlie great rock 
into this bidden Pool of Siloam. I 11 this 
rocky apartment we ascend a pair of stairs, 
from under which the stream that meanders 
through the entire gulch leaps in majestic 
fall, its roar almost deafening, and spray 
dashing over us. For thousands of years this 
little stream—at first, probably, a switch of 
rainfall on the earth’s surface — has been 
engaged in wearing this chasm in the sand¬ 
stone, until now the gorge is seventy-five feet 
deep, nearly a mile long, and in some places 
so narrow that a large person can only pass 
through with difficulty, especially at Fat Man’s 



THE OLD GUARD, NEAR DEVIL’S LAKE, WIS. 



SPLIT ROCK, DEVIL’S LAKE, WISCONSIN. 

Returning to Kilbourn City, on the 
following day a trip was made to Taylor’s 
Glen, which is thus well described by a cor¬ 
respondent: “At the handsome school build¬ 
ing on the east side of the village, a rugged 
path struggles down into an ordinary ‘ hol¬ 
low,’ which farther down and followed, opens 
into a grand gorge. Every step now reveals 
scenes and formations beside which all the 
boasted charms of ‘Watkin’s Glen’ become 
commonplace. Being neither cave nor valley, 
but combining all the attractions of both, it 
winds and twists through immense rocks in a 
serpentine path. At one point, far overhead, 
a sheet of daylight slants through a mere rift 
in the rocks. The roof and liigh-arching 


(or Woman’s) Misery-point. In several 
places vast chambers have been formed, at 
the door-way of one of which a beautiful fall 
of water leaps down into a deep-cut basin. 

There are several deep crevasses in the 
river leading to places of extraordinary beauty 
and wonder, and which on account of the 
narrow passage cannot be reached by the 
little steamboat. Row-boats are therefore 
provided, by the aid of which we visited a 
number of these side-attractions. “Sky¬ 
light Cave” is one of these which, though 
having a small mouth, widens inside and 
receives light through a little crevice at the 
top. It is a cosy little retreat that well re¬ 
repays a visit. 



FALLS OF ST. LOUIS RIVER. 



























RAPIDS OF MONTREAL RIVER, NORTH OF LAKE SUPERIOR 
















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


328 



walls are frescoed with diamond dew and dripping, drooping mosses and lichens. Groups of strange figures, carved by cataracts, washed 
by whirlpools ages on ages ago, ape Egyptian gods and mummies of the ancient Orient. Here a crystal spring bursts from a wall of solid 
stone and goes dancing down over pebbles and ferns. On through an ever-varying pathway filled with kaleidoscope-like enchantment we 
wandered with awe and admiration, our journey ending at a long, dark tunnel, which looks out, through a wide, cavernous window, upon 
the river beyond. The Tower Dells, like their companions above the village, have rocky banks, covered with vegetation, and curiously 
shaped formations no less interesting than the aggregation, a description of which I have but faintly accomplished. One cannot see this 
truly remarkable, weird, romantic and beautiful section of our land and suppress admiration. Nor will a week suffice for a thorough 
exploration of the caves, grottos, 
rocks and ravines hereabouts. 

Above Witches’ Gulch is a beauti¬ 
ful view of the river, its bluffs and 
many islands, a fairly comparable 
Lake George view. A fine drive is 
had north from Kilbourn to ‘ Hor¬ 
net’s Nest,’ ‘ Squaw’s Chamber,’ 

‘Luncheon Hall,’ ‘Stand Rock,’ 

‘Devil’s Lake,’ and many points of 
interest farther up the river and in 
the country in this and adjoining 
counties.” 

The whole region within a 
radius of thirty or more miles of 
Kilbourn City, particularly on the 
west, is full of natural curiosities, 
for the district was evidently at one 
time, in the remote past, the bed of 
a lake whose swirling waters carved 
the soft sandstones into many 
astounding forms, and then were 
assuaged by some force which geol¬ 
ogists fail to explain, leaving these 
rare monuments of their work 
behind them. Devil’s Lake, near¬ 
by, is the relic of that vast inland 
sea, which no doubt was a part of the great lakes, on the shores of which are many images of wondrous shapes and size, with many of 
which interesting legends are connected. Thus “Sacrifice Stone,” in “Wonder Notch,” is popularly believed to be the rock on which 
an Indian maiden was immolated at an unknown time to propitiate the anger of the Great Spirit, while “Cleft Rock” represents the fury 
of the devil who, while in a passion over some act of the tribe, rose out of the lake and hurled one of his fiery darts with such poor aim 
that it did no other damage than split the largest stone on the shore. 

Cleopatra’s Needle is likewise reputed to be the transformed and geologic remains of a very ancient Indian chief who was punished 


GIANT’S CASTLE, NEAR CAMP DOUGLAS. 











SUGAR-LOAF, MACINAC ISLAND 








330 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


by the devil for the audacity of attempting to pene¬ 
trate the mysteries of the lake ; while another broken 
and distorted stone on the front of East Mountain is 
connected with a similar and indistinct tradition re¬ 
specting the invidious curiosity of a squaw. But 
though there is no lack of superstitions beliefs among 
the few Indians of the district, who respect these 
queer formations as the relics of their forefathers, 
there is no more foundation for them than the mere 
claim that “so it has been told,”, for no one has ever 
heard the particulars. It is a forgotten story. 

Near the west center of Juneau county, fifteen 
miles east of the Wisconsin River, is a cross-roads 
railroad town called Camp Douglas, which is in the 
midst of a region remarkable for natural curiosities, 
rivaling those found in the Bad Lands in Wyoming. 
It is a country of sandstone that exhibits the astonish¬ 
ing results of centuries of water and wind erosions upon 
what was manifestly once a vast bed of argillaceous clay, 
that in the process of time was converted into soft stone 
as the lake dried up. The receding waters gradually 
wore deep ravines in the sandstone, thus giving birth 
to rivulets which aided a more rapid change in the bed 
until it became traversed by numerous streams that in 
time completely drained the lake. Then the winds 
began their work of eroding, helped by the sand which 
they carried, and the result became finally, as we 
behold it in the Bad Bands, and in Monument Park, 
Colorado, a large number of towers, domes, pinnacles 
and other architectural forms. To the more strikingly 
curious shapes names have been given, as the “Old 
Guard,” “Giant’s Castle,” “Castle Rock,” “Chimney 
Rock,” “Signal Rock,” “Beleaguered Castle,” etc., 
as shown by the illustrations. 

From Kilbourn City we went to Milwaukee, and 
thence by the Chicago and Northwestern, and the Min¬ 
neapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad to St. 
Ignace, where we took boat for Mackinac Island, a very 
noted resort in the Straits of Mackinaw. This island 
is celebrated for its splendid scenery, some of which 



CHIMNEY AND BEE ROCKS, CAMP DOUGLAS, WISCONSIN. 




FALLS OF MINER’S RIVER IN WINTER. 



THE CASCADE IN WINTER, LAKE SUPERIOR. 













332 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


we photographed, after which we proceeded 
to Sault Ste. Marie, the seat of government 
of Chippewa county, Michigan, and noted for 
having one of the largest and finest ship 
canals in the world, through which, surpris¬ 
ing as the statement appears, a larger daily 
tonnage passes than the Suez Canal accommo¬ 
dates. One of the sights that are apt to claim 
the particular attention of visitors now are 
the new grain-carrying vessels called Whale- 
backs, which have within the last three years 
become a feature of our lake commerce. 

In order to observe the shores more 
clearly, we took one of the Lake Superior 
Transit Company’s steamers at Sault Ste. 
Marie for Duluth, a route which gives oppor¬ 
tunity for taking photographs of the incom¬ 
parable pictured cliffs of Superior. But at 
Marquette, where the steamer lands, a yacht 
was engaged in which we were able to approach 
much of the finest scenery that would other¬ 
wise have escaped our attention. 

The range of cliffs to which the name 
of Pictured Rocks has been given, may be 
regarded as among the most striking and 
beautiful features of the scenery of the North¬ 
west, and is well worthy the attention of the 
artist and the observer of geological phe¬ 
nomena. They may be described, in general 
terms, as a series of sandstone bluffs extending 
along the shore of Lake Superior for about 
five miles, and derive their name from the 
great diversity of colors they disjfiay. They 
are worn into strange shapes by frost and 
storm, and stained by a thousand dyes in 
every possible variety of arrangement, far 
beyond the power of words to describe, and 
all this profusion is repeated mile after mile, 
keeping up the interest by some new prospect 
of sweeping curve, or abrupt angle, or 



SIGNAL ROCK, CAMP DOUGLAS. 





NIPIGON RIVER, FLOWING INTO LAKE SUPERIOR 





334 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



fantastic form. “The ‘Castle,’ the first of the more striking features of the rocks, bears at a distance a great resemblance to an ancient 
castle, with walls, towers, and battlements. Further on, a mass of detached rock called the ‘Sail Rock’ comes into view, and so striking 
is its resemblance to a sloop with the jib and mainsail spread, that a short distance out on the lake any one would suppose it a real boat 
sailing near the beach. But the principal feature of the rocks is the magnificent cave known as the ‘ Grand Portal.’ Let the reader 
imagine himself in a room 400 feet long by 18 feet wide, and 150 to 200 feet high to the arched roof, bulk of yellow sandstone, seamed 
with decay, and dripping with water. Shout, and the voice is multiplied an hundredfold by echoes that reverberate several seconds, sharp, 
metallic. Here the stratum of gravel rises about fifty feet, while at the castle it is nearly down to the water’s level. The waters are 
undermining the foundations, and wearing holes every¬ 
where in the support of the walls and the roof. The 
water in the cave increases in depth as you go on 
towards the lake, from the bare rocks of the back 
end to about fifty feet at the opening, and a few rods 
from the shore it is a hundred feet, or more. The cliff 
on the west, next to the Grand Portal, is hollowing out, 
forming an immense cave, increasing every year.” 

“It is beyond the power of the pencil,” says a 
recent traveler, “to represent the effect of the reflected 
light in the roof as seen from the rear. Especially 
when the sun is toward the west the bright light is 
reflected from the waves into the cavern, and undulates 
like a sea of light overhead; a picture in living colors, 
so tender, so quiet — luminous, pearly grays, bright 
flashes, cool, high lights, all warmed by the yellow 
sandstone, dripping with water, on which the effect is 
thrown.” 

“At the mouth of Miner’s River the coast makes an 
abrupt turn to the eastward, and just at the point where 
the rocks break off and the sand beach begins, is seen 
one of the grandest works of nature in her rock-built 
architecture, which is known as ‘Miners’ Castle,’ 
from its singular resemblance to the turreted entrance 
and arched portal of some old castle. The height of 
the advancing mass, in which the form of the gothic 
gateway may be recognized, is about seventy feet, while SAND ISLAND ARCH, LAKE SUPERIOR. 

that of the main wall forming the background is about one hundred and forty. The appearance of the opening at the base changes rapidly 
with each change in the position of the spectator, and on taking a position a little to the right of that occupied by the sketcher, the central 
opening appears more distinctly, flanked on either side by two lateral passages, making the resemblance to an artificial work still more 
striking. The chapel, if not the grandest, is among the most grotesqiie of nature’s architecture here displayed. Unlike the excavations 
before described, which occur at the water’s edge, this has been made in the rock at a height of thirty or forty feet above the lake. The 
interior consists of a vaulted apartment, which has not inaptly received the name it bears. An arched roof of sandstone, from ten to twenty 












THE CHAPEL, PICTURED ROCKS, LAKE SUPERIOR. 
















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


3^6 

feet in thickness, rests on four gigantic columns of rock, so as to leave a vaulted apartment of irregular shape, about forty feet in diameter, 
and about the same in height. The columns consist of finely stratified rock, and have been worn into curious shapes. At the base of one 
of them an arched cavity, or niche, has been cut, to which access is had by a flight of steps, formed by the projecting strata. The 
disposition of the whole is such as to resemble, very much, the pulpit of a church; since there is, overhead, an arched canopy, and in front 
an opening out towards the vaulted interior or the chapel, with a flat tubular mass in front, rising to a convenient height for a desk, while 
on the right is an isolated block, which not inaptly represents an altar; so that, if the whole had been adapted expressly for a place of 
worship, and fashioned by the hands of men, it could hardly have been arranged more appropriately. It is scarcely possible to describe 
the singular and unique effect 
of this extraordinary structure; 
it is truly a temple of nature — 

‘an house not made with 
hands.’ ” 

The Pictured Rocks are 
beautiful and fantastic at all 
times, but it is in winter that 
they are sublimely lovely, be- 
wilderingly grand, as photo¬ 
graphs taken by Mr. Childs, to 
whom we are indebted for their 
use here, will show. The falls 
of Miners’ River are exquisite 
when pouring over a brink 
fringed with greenest foilage, but 
when held in the vise-like grip 
of winter they are magnificent 
almost beyond conception. 

They are a fitting prelude to the 
spectatoriuin of cave wonders 
near-by, such as the “Abode of 
the Genii,” which might better 
be called the “Throne-room of 
Fairy Stalacta.” The water 
percolating through the roof of ABODE OF THE GENII > LAKE SUPERIOR. 

the caverns is frozen into the rarest, daintiest and most exquisite incrustations imaginable, some having the appearance of snow balls, 
chrysanthemums and lilies, while others reach down their immense crystal points, as if trying to rest their ponderous weight upon the 
opalescent floor. The “ Cave-of-the-Winds ” has a splendid entrance, and being shallow in depth is well lighted, so that the ice-covered 
walls reflect the most gorgeous colors; but the congealed formations, while very beautiful, cannot compare with those that the Genii of 
the neighbor grotto have appropriated. The splendors of these shores, however, are by no means confined to the caverns, for almost equally 
curious and charming views are presented by the vertical faces of the snowy cliffs, upon which winter hangs the most magnificent draperies. 
“The Cascade” is formed by the water flowing over a low bench along the shore, but at many points more curious effects are produced bv 









CAVE-OF-THE-WINDS, LAKE SUPERIOR. 



22 


EXTERIOR VIEW OF CAVE-OF-THE-WINDS. 















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



BAY OF ISLES, LAKE SUPERIOR. 



the fierce lashings of the lake that toss 
showers of spray high up on the cliffs, 
where it freezes into shapes peculiarly 
wonderful and often radiantly beautiful. 
“Peter’s Pillar” is a curious ice monu¬ 
ment formed by a little waterfall that 
drops through a hole it has worn in the 
bluff, but about the base are pretty ice 
terraces and graceful corrugations, the 
frozen spray cast from the shore-beating 
waves of the angry lake. 

“The Grand Portal” is a perforation 
through an elbow of the palisades, and of 
such magnitude as to appear like a vast 
cave, when viewed from an angle. Inside, 
however, it is seen to be a great tunnel, 
sufficiently curved to barely admit the 
sight of a small opening at each end. At 
this point the cliffs jut into the lake, and 
in winter they are festooned and royally 
embellished with lovely ice-forms of every 
imaginable shape. A formation somewhat 
similar is seen on “Sand Island” of the 
Apostle Group, where the beating waves 
have made an excavation through an arm 
of the palisades sufficiently large to admit 
the passage of a row-boat. 

But for miles the vertical and gleam¬ 
ing white bluffs of sandstone, sometimes 
resembling the chalk banks of Albion, 
distinguish the shore line, and exhibit 
surprising perforations that are frequently 
large enough to permit a boat to venture 
out of sight; and naturally they attract 
large numbers of summer tourists, who 
find in these caves, like the “Bay of 
Isles” and “Cave of the Dark Waters,” 
excellent trout fishing. 

The wonders of Lake Superior’s shores 
do not terminate at Dirluth, for the walls 



THE SEA-ELEPHANT, LAKE SUPERIOR. 



PRINCESS BAY, LAKE SUPERIOR. 


PAD-LOCK ISLAND, LAKE SUPERIOR. 






















THE GRAND PORTAL, LAKE SUPERIOR. 



mm 




y ■ 


GRAND PORTALS, FROM THE LAKE. 














THE ICE PALACE AT ST. PAUL IN 1888 . 


iriafe 























/ 










342 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


rise to even a greater height on the north line and are of green sand¬ 
stone and porphyry, occasionally twelve hundred feet high. The St. 
Louis River enters the lake from the northwest at Duluth; and though 
this stream is barely deep enough to float a raft of logs, it runs between 
lofty banks of the same general character as those which confine the 
Great Lake. Enormous palisades line the north shore of Superior, 
whose columns are so symmetrical as to equal the best productions of 
the sculptor’s art. Pigeon River forms part of the boundary line 
between Canada and the United States, and is a stream in great repute 
with sportsmen, and also offers attractions to those who delight in 
natural scenery of a sublime character. Pigeon Falls is but one of 
many interruptions in its course towards the lake, the pool formed by 
the dropping water being a favorite haunt for trout and salmon, while 
in the numerous lakes near-by are myriads of water-fowls that have their 
nesting-places on the shores. A few miles toward the east is Nipi¬ 
gon River, another beautiful stream that connects a lake of the same 
name with Superior. It is somewhat wider than Pigeon River, and its 
shores are less bluffy; thus the current being less rapid, the stream is 
diversified by many little islands that are so green with pines, hem¬ 
locks and other trees as to look like emerald gems. But all along the 
north shore are scenes of great beauty, and vast stores of mineral 
wealth in iron and copper lie only a few feet beneath the surface; yet 
notwithstanding all these attractions, the region is rarely visited save 
by Indians and sportsmen. 

We reached St. Paul, after an absence of nearly one month, 
and there met our photographer who had gone into the Black Hills in 
quest of views. Being thus reunited, we started down the Mississippi, 
but by rail, as the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad follows 
the bank as far as La Crosse. Several stops were made, however, in 
order to catch pictures of Fort Snelling, and the grand bluffs above 
and below Winona, which for towering magnificence far exceed the 
hills that render the Hudson famous. Indeed, considering the river 
from St. Paul to Pepin Lake, the Mississippi’s shores present finer 
scenery than is to be found along any other navigable stream on either 
continent. But south of that point the views are rather monotonous 
until Grafton is reached, where the Piasa Bluffs begin and run along 
the river for twenty miles, exhibiting not only great vertical height, 
but curious shapes, and at one point some very ancient Indian picture 
writings. 



! 


PETER’S PILLAR, LAKE SUPERIOR. 






PIGEON RIVER FALLS, NORTH SHORE OF LAKE SUPERIOR. 







OLD FORT SNELLING, ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, 


















CHAPTER X. 

SCENIC MARVELS OF THE GREAT NORTHEAST. 



UR circuit of the West had now been completed, and having surrendered the camera car which we had chartered, we made nasty 
preparations for a grand tour of all that section lying east of the Mississippi. Before departing for the East, however, we made a 
flying trip over the St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad to Eureka Springs, a popular health resort in Northern Arkansas, surrounded 
by some very beautiful scenery that spreads away through the Ozark and Boston Mountains in picturesque grandeur, diversified by 
swift-flowing streams, deep gorges, terrible bluffs and immense caves that are gorgeously embellished with gigantic stalactite and 
stalagmite formations. If these magnificent scenes were not so conveniently near a large city, they would be a hundredfold more 
famous, for it is human nature to yearn for the least accessible and the most difficult of attainment. In short, we rarely appreciate the 

things that we have, and exaggerate the importance and 
attractiveness of places which are remote. It is this pecu¬ 
liarity of the human mind that makes heaven a necessity and 
immortality a natural deduction, the irresistible conclusion of 
human reason. 

We tarried one week in St. Louis before departing for 
the East, and then again divided our party, one of our pho¬ 
tographers proceeding to Pittsburgh, and thence through 
Pennsylvania and Virginia, taking views of the famous 
scenery of those States, while the other two whose travels we 
will now describe, passed northward to Chicago, and thence 
east by way of Niagara. Having heard much of a cele¬ 
brated point known as Starved Rock, on the Illinois River, a 
place of commanding interest in the history of La Salle and 
his adventurous companions, we resolved to stop at Ottawa, en 
route to Chicago, and make a photograph of the historic rock. 
We reached Ottawa by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy 
Road, and thence by driving ten miles in a spring wagon we 
gained the spot made celebrated through a tradition which is 
as romantic as it is tragic. 

Starved Rock is now the property of a company, and is 
STARVED ROCK, ON ILLINOIS RIVER, NEAR OTTAWA, ILLINOIS. situated on the left bank of the Illinois River, near the foot of 

the rapids. It is a perpendicular bluff of limestone, one hundred and fifty feet high, and is crowned with oaks and other forest trees. 
The water front presents a precipitous wall, but there is a slope towards an adjoining bluff by which it is alone accessible. The summit 
has an area of about one acre, but is a natural stronghold; and perceiving its advantages, La Salle, on his first return trip to Canada, 
ordered his Indian lieutenant, named Tonti, to fortify himself upon the Rock, supplying him with one small cannon for that purpose. 
Tonti carried out these orders, and, it is said, died and was buried upon the Rock. Years afterward, the place became conspicuous in the 
Indian wars; jmd it is related that after the killing of Pontiac, chief of the Ottawas, in a drunken row at Cahokia, some of his people 


345 































AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


347 




ehaiged the Illinois tribe with the crime and made war upon them. Being feeble in numbers, they were driven before the Ottawas so 
remorselessly that as a last resort they took refuge on Starved Rock. Here they were able to hold their enemies at bay, but their distress 
was none the less because of their ability to prevent a scaling of their stronghold, for the Ottawas besieged the Rock and effectually 
prevented the Illinois from securing any supplies. Water was for awhile procured by means of vessels attached to ropes of bark, which 
were let down into the stream. But this device was presently discovered and prevented by the Ottawas coming under the bluff in canoes 
and cutting the ropes. Unwilling to surrender and run the risk of torture, the unfortunate Illinois remained in the place of their retreat 
until one by one they died of starvation. This is the tradition current in Ea Salle county, and the finding of many Indian relics and 
bones on the Rock tend to confirm its truthfulness. 

From Chicago we went east over the Michigan Central to Niagara Falls, that greatest of natural wonders, a sublime apotheosis of 

omnipotence, a glorification of the immeas¬ 
urable power that nature possesses, in whose 
roar we distinguish the hallelujah chorus of 
centuries and peans of praise to the mightiness 
of Deity. 

Niagara Falls, the supreme natural mar¬ 
vel of both continents, is divided into two cat¬ 
aracts, viz.: American Falls, flowing towards 
the American or western side, and Horseshoe 
Falls, which discharges towards the Canada 
side, the two being separated by Goat Island. 

The height of the former is one hundred and 
four feet, and the latter, owing to a limestone 
strata not yet worn away, is one foot higher, 
by which it is reasonably concluded that at 
one time nearly all the flow was towards the 
American side, because the discharge over 
the western fall is not now so great as that 
towards the Canada side. This tremendous 
flood of waters is from Bake Erie through 
Niagara River into Lake Ontario, and the 
retrogression of the cataradl, caused by the 
THE LOOKOUT, ON THE ROAD TO HOMER. wearing of the ii me stone ledge, inclines BARN BLUFF ’ NEAR RED WING, MINNESOTA. 

geologists to the opinion that the flow has continued for a period of not less than thirty-seven thousand years. The width of Niagara 
River at the falls is forty-five hundred feet, of which American Falls occupies eleven hundred feet, Goat Island fourteen hundred feet, and 
Horseshoe Falls two thousand feet, though the deep curve in the latter, whence its name is derived, makes the line of fall more than three 
thousand feet. It has been estimated that the discharge exceeds one billion gallons of water every twelve hours, and that the force thus 
developed is equal to something more than one million horse-power. 

The landscape on either side of the falls has little of the picturesque or tumultuous about it, being generally slightly rolling, and 
giving no indication of eruptive disturbance; so that scientists are still searching for a plausible theory upon which to base a conclusion as 
to the cause that produced this sudden dip in the limestone formation. 











34§ 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



The astounding power displayed by the river dropping over a wide and lofty ledge is scarcely more bewildering than that 
exhibited by the Rapids, which extend for half a mile from the point of descent, and meeting a swift current, the flood is lashed into a fury 
that is frightful to behold, ris¬ 
ing in the center like huge 
beasts in combat, and tossing 
wave-caps nearly fifty feet 
above the surface. At times 
the spray rises in such clouds 
as to completely obscure the 
falls, and borne some distance 
by the winds is condensed, and 
a long-continued rain follows, 
which renders a considerable 
stay in the neighborhood some¬ 
what disagreeable. 

While an admirable view 
of the falls may be obtained 
from many points of observa¬ 
tion on the bridge, or along 
both shores, the greatest inter¬ 
est attaches to a visit to the 
noisy caverns that are behind 
the descending flood. These 
may be reached by means of 
spiral stairways built for the 
purpose, but the visitor must 
prepare for the trip by invest¬ 
ing himself in a suit of oil-skin, 
and for awhile must assume the 
character of an amphibian. At 
the bottom of the deep descent 
are stones in great confusion, 
over which we must scramble 
to reach the Cave-of-the-Winds, 
a watery grotto indeed, in 
which the air is agitated by 
the thundering cataract that 
fairly envelopes you. The VIEW OF FORT SWELLING FROM THE MISSISSIPPI. 

scene here is beyond the scope of pen or brush, for these appeal only to sight and understanding, while the awful presence conjures all the 
senses. Behind the giant curtain of waterfall is a greenish reflection, weird in its intensity and unnaturalness, and to the ears there comes 





HARDING SPRING AND ROCK, EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS, ON ST. LOUIS AND SAN FRANCISCO RAILROAD 















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


35° 

a muffled roar which, while not jar¬ 
ring, yet seems to pervade and pene¬ 
trate like the dull rumble of an 
earthquake. This uncertain dis¬ 
turbance, which confuses with 
strange noise, is intensified by a 
wind that is here created by what ap¬ 
pears to be some mysterious agency; 
and other curious things are noted 
that suggest to the imaginative mind 
a region of the supernatural, where 
indistinct voices warn and then in¬ 
vite, but are always clamorous, like 
a crowd of bedlamites. 

Below the falls the river narrows 
to eight hundred feet, between pre¬ 
cipitous walls, which add swiftness to 
the current, and three miles from 
Horseshoe Falls the impetuous stream 
strikes a point of projecting land in 
such a manner that a terrible whirl¬ 
pool is created, capable of sucking 
down a large steamboat. By means 
of a car, which is controlled by a 
cable, visitors may ride down the 
very steep incline to the edge of 
Whirlpool Rapids and view in safety 
the awful, mad-lashing waters, 
swirling with extraordinary rapidity 
and throwing high the tousled heads 
of ravening waves, which appear to 
be lusting for victims and bellowing 
for vengeance. It is gratifying to 
know that the almost incomputable 
power of Niagara is soon to be trans¬ 
mitted, through the generation of 
electricity, to mills and machinery, 
and thus utilized to the honor of 
human genius as well as to the glory 
of God. 



AMERICAN FALLS, VIEWED FROM GOAT ISLAND 







WIN I'ER AT NIAGARA. 

































NIAGARA FROZEN 




















352 


Great changes occurring in Niagara Falls, 
which though slow and remittent, are no less 
certain to destroy the grandeur of that incom¬ 
parable waterfall some time in the very remote 
future. It is a well-demonstrated fact that 
Niagara River has excavated the gorge 
through which it runs, and within recent 
years such immense masses of the ledge-stone 
have been detached by the gnawing waters 
as to cause an appreciable recession of the 
cataract, and a corresponding lengthening of 
the gorge. It is recorded that in 1818 very 
large fragments of limestone were wrenched 
from the surface-bed and cast over Horseshoe 
Falls, and another similar result occurred in 
1855. But each year, and constantly, the 
erosion is marked, so that Table Rock, for¬ 
merly a striking feature of the river, has been 
worn away so completely that no present 
sign of it now remains. It has been com¬ 
puted by Sir Charles Lyell that the average 
rate of recession is about one foot annually, 
counting for the past thousand years; but as 
before stated, the erosive results are spas¬ 
modic. There is now eighty feet of hard 
limestone composing the surface-rock, and it 
will probably require ten thousand years for 
the rushing waters to eat this away; after 
that, however, the wear will be rapid, and in 
course of centuries the falls will have disap¬ 
peared, and only a tremendous gorge will 
remain in their stead. Many wonderful spec¬ 
tacles have taken place at the falls, the most 
interesting of which was the sending adrift 
of a condemned lake vessel, drawing eighteen 
feet of water, in 1829, which passed over the 
brink without touching bottom, and was 
dashed in pieces on the rocks below. This 
experiment was made to test the depth of 
water on the brink of the precipice. 


:a’s wonderlands 



BRIDAL VEIL FALLS, NIAGARA 











AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



There is a weary sameness to the generally level or prairie scenery which lies between the Mississippi River and New York State, if 
we except the rather pleasing diversity of well-cultivated farms, prosperous towns, and evidences of thrift that are everywhere noticeable. 
But there is more than the greatness of commercial and industrial empire to recommend New York to the siglit-seer, for some of the most 
charming scenery to be found anywhere in the world is within her borders, matching for sublimity even the most marvelous views which 
we have described. And additional fascination attaches to many of her noted places on account of the Indian names which have been 

jealously preserved in her ge¬ 
ography. The Mohawk Valley 
is at once a lovely vale and a 
reminder of Cooper’s “Leather 
Stocking Stories;” and so are 
her hundred rivers and lakes 
that bear the designations be¬ 
stowed upon them, either by 
some of the once-powerful 
tribes, or which perpetuate the 
fame of their great chiefs, the 
shades of whom seem to linger 
about Seneca, Cayuga, Oneida, 
Oswego, Canandiagua, Chau¬ 
tauqua, Keuka, Skaneateles, 
over which they once skimmed 
in light canoes. The romance 
with which these be'autifnl 
waters are invested would draw 
us irresistibly to their shores 
were there no other attractions; 
but to these delightful tradi¬ 
tions of a vanished people are 
the added charms of sylvan 
glades, exposing vistas of ex¬ 
quisite landscape, blue waters 
dimpled by soft winds, swift¬ 
racing streams dashing under 
overarching shades, and wild 
chasms that imprison echo and 


’.'H'v-'V 


HECTOR FALLS, WATKIN’S GLEN, IN WINTER. 


exhibit some of the most astounding results of glacial action, abetted by upheaval, depression and erosion. After picturing the wonders 
of Niagara, therefore, two of our party made a trip over the New York Central Line and its connection, to Geneva, a beautiful town 
on the north shore of Seneca Lake, which in many respects is one of the most remarkable bodies of water in the world. The lake 
is about forty miles in length, but it is a mere strip, rarely exceeding two miles in width, yet has the extraordinary depth of six 
hundred feet, so that it is evidently a basin created by the same convulsion that wrought the surprising results which render the Glens at 


23 






354 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


the south end famous beyond comparison, as will 
be presently described. It is particularly strange 
that such a tremendous cleft should be made 
without showing a wider extent of disturbance, 
though the shores are a succession of promontories, 
sweeping back in graceful undulations and well- 
wooded slopes, save where industry has converted 
the hills into fruitful fields. 

The trip from Geneva to Watkins, which 
covers the extreme length of the lake, is comfort¬ 
ably and enjoyably made by means of fine steamers, 
which land at many intermediate points, and give 
summer tourists opportunity for thoroughly exam¬ 
ining the towns and beautiful banks along the way. 
Watkins, which is the objective place of all pleas¬ 
ure travelers, has its feet bathed by Seneca Lake, 
and its head shaded by the brow of Buck Mount¬ 
ain, at whose base is the main street, running 
parallel therewith. Following this street a short 
distance, the visitor reaches a bridge that affords 
passage over a small stream, and proceeding along 
the banks of this little water-course for less than 
half a mile, he is suddenly confronted by a massive 
and lofty natural wall that prevents further pro¬ 
gress. Stairways, however, have been built, by 
which we mounted to the summit of this wonder¬ 
ful masonry, and from that eminence surveyed the 
matchless scenery of Watkin’s Glen. But the view 
is interrupted by intervening precipices and densely 
wooded copses, so that to see the amazing wonders 
and the bewildering beauties of this marvelously 
diversified region, a tour of its many attractions is 
necessary. To do this requires a pair of strong 
legs and good breath, for the climbing is severely 
taxing, though owing to the substantial and well 
protected stairways is never dangerous. 

Passing through Glen Alpha, where the 
awful sublimity of a tremendous chasm oppresses 
the visitor on first view, we caught sight of Twin 
Falls, where the waters pour down in two great 



m * ^ 

>/%&/ 

pte, -«***■" 


CAVERN CASCADE, WATKIN'S GLEN, IN WINTER 






TERRACED FALLS, WATKINS GLEN, NEW YORK. 











AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



356 

sluices and become wedded in a swirling pool that pours out the overflow through a canon whose walls have been scarified by the teeth of 
centuries. Below the falls is Whirlpool Gorge, an amphitheater that is striated and terraced into forms so variable as to please every 
conceit and yet arouse amaze¬ 
ment. The stream dashes into 
this capricious auditorium at a 
maddening pace, but encounters 
resistance in the curving walls, 
and is thus thrown into a rapid, 
whirling movement like a mael¬ 
strom; and this rotary action 
of the waters has worn the 
half-encircling walls into many 
singular, though usually sym¬ 
metrical shapes. 

Climbing out of Whirlpool 
Gorge and moving southward a 
short distance along a railed 
ledge, we come in sight of 
Peek-a-boo Falls, a beautiful 
sheet of water plunging over a 
precipice fifty feet high, and 
scattering its spray along the 
walls that confine its descent, 
for the chasm is very narrow 
here, and charming for its syl¬ 
van weirdness. The cliffs are 
very pictures in stone, rising in 
tiers and carved into fantastic 
forms, while the overhanging 
trees, graceful ferns and velvety 
mosses make the place a bower 
in which fairies might delight 
to dwell. 

Though both Watkins and 
Havana Glens are gems of nat¬ 
ure in summer-time, their rarest 
robes of beauty are worn in 
winter, when the Ice King takes WATKINS CASCADE FROZEN. 

them in his embrace and bejewels them with crystals more exquisite than ever graced a royal bride. For the winter views which are here 
presented we are indebted to other photographers, as we are also for the frost pictures of the Lake Superior coast, as our visit was made in 






GIANT’S GORGE, IN CHATEAUGAY CHASM 


WHIRLPOOL GORGE, WATKIN’S GLEN 


















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


353 

the summer-time. Examples of the sublime magnifi¬ 
cence, the divine-like embellishment of Watkin’s Glen, 
when the lips of winter have kissed the noisy waterfalls 
•into frozen silence, are seen in the illustrations of Cavern 
Cascade, and Hector Falls, and Watkin’s Cascade, where 
the frost-sprites and the little children of the snow hide 
beneath opalescent icicles and light the lamp of joy in 
grottoes that open toward the voiceless gorge. 

Further up the chasm, where the broken fronts of 
vertical walls begin, is a quiet retreat known as the 
Council Chamber, spanned by a pretty bridge that is hung 
upon opposite ledges and conducts to a passage that runs 
along a shelf, then down a stairs to a path that leads 
from the water’s edge to the town. The walls that en¬ 
close this strip of river are exceedingly beautiful, built 
up as they are with thin layers, of a few inches’ thickness, 
each strata being very distinct, and the face of the cliffs 
wrought into lovely shapes, with slielfs here and there as 
if inviting lovers to seek them for the delightful seclusion 
which they offer. The glen is about three miles in length, 
and the walls frequently three hundred feet in height, 
with enough variableness in the scenery to make it a 
source of unwearying admiration. 

Three miles south of Watkin’s Glen, and properly a 
continuation, for there is really a very brief interruption 
in the rugged character of the valley, is Havana Glen, 
quite as famous as its adjacent brother. The cliffs here 
are scarcely so vertical, but the general formation is 
iwactically the same, and similar means are provided for 
viewing its wonders to advantage. Bridal Veil Falls is 
Havana’s most alluring object, and well do they repay 
the tourist for his visit. The water at this point falls 
thirty feet down a very steep slope in a great column that, 
contracted at the plunge, spreads as it flows over a suc¬ 
cession of terraces and dashes into the deep stream below 
with sullen roar. 

Portland Cascade is another charming fall, but the 
chasm being wider at this point and broken by many 
shelves, the water flows with less turbulence, though the 
cascades are made more beautiful by spreading into thin, 





PORTLAND CASCADE, HAVANA GLEN 









PEEK-A-BOO FALLS AND PICTURED CLEFT, WATKIN’S GLEN. 












AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


360 


veil-like sheets, so transparent that the wall 
behind them is visible. A bridge is thrown 
across the leaping stream, from which a glo¬ 
rious view is had of the chasm as it winds 
away towards the south, while the copse which 
fringes the western edge constitutes a bower of 
extraordinary loveliness. 

Eagle Falls, a hundred yards below the 
cascades, is, perhaps, the most daintily ex¬ 
quisite object in all this vale of natural won¬ 
ders, a very poem of beauty and charming 
sequestration, where the brown cliffs sleep to the 
lullaby of flowing waters, and the wild flowers 
listen to the murmurs of the breeze. Stairs 
lead to the brink, under overarching trees that 
provide a delightful nook, but a more entranc¬ 
ing view is obtainable from the bottom of the 
charming dell into which the waters fall. 
There is neither grandeur nor sublimity in the 
sight afforded, but a soft witchery, a gentle 
soul-rapture that is kin to inspiration in the 
monody of the stream as it pours over the 
ledge in a rhythm that is as musical as April 
rain upon a cottager’s roof, and shimmers in 
its fall like a lace curtain stirred by the wind. 
Eagle Falls is plainly a misnomer, for the 
name suggests a thing of prey. The Nymphs’ 
Bath is more appropriate, for here it would 
seem that all the little people of the water and 
the wood might find what Titania and Diana 
longed for—a place of absolute seclusion, 
“where the bright eyes of angels only might 
behold a paradise so pure and lonely.” 

Having feasted our sight, and caught the 
spirit of inspiration that haunts the romantic 
retreats of Havana Glen, we departed north¬ 
ward and took a train on the Rome, Watertown 
and Ogdensburg Railroad for Clayton, situated 
on the south bank of the St. Lawrence River, 
near where it receives the flow from Ontario 



EAGLE FALLS, HAVANA GLEN. 











COUNCIL CHAMBER, W ATKIN’S GLEN, NEW YORK. 

















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


362 


Lake. At this point steamer was taken for a ride 
among the Thousand Islands to Ogdensburg, a trip 
more charming than onr remembrance of love’s first 
dream. This part of the river is broken into many 
channels that meander through avenues worn in the 
granite which confines its course. The Thousand 
Islands is no misnomer, for they seem to be beyond 
number, scattered like a myriad of emeralds, with 
deep water between, and yet so close together that 
they may almost reach hands across the breach. Every 
islet is a dome of rock, ground into symmetrical shape 
by glacial action long ago, then covered by a sediment 
from the river sufficient to support a profuse vegeta¬ 
tion. The Canada pine is conspicuous, lifting its 
scraggy head to a great height, and pointing its stout 
branches in every direction, a stately figure among the 
brushwood that surrounds it. 

Many of the islands are only little green dots 
scarcely large enough for a fairy’s bower, while others 
are of considerable size, occupied by lovely villas, the 
resort of those wealthy enough to own beautiful summer 
houses where the air is fragrant with sweetest odors, 
and the gamest fish invite the enthusiastic angler. 

Departing from Ogdensburg, one of our party 
proceeded to Montreal, by way of Ottawa, to photo¬ 
graph some Canada scenery in the vicinity of those 
cities, while the other took train for Chateaugay, each 
mapping out for himself the work to be done in the 
regions which he had chosen to picture. Chateaugay 
is in the extreme northeastern part of New York and 
about thirty miles from Lake Champlain. A river of 
the same name flows by the place and through some 
scenery which is almost matchless in marvelous grand¬ 
eur, probably excelling in extraordinary cleavage that 
found in Watkin’s and Havana Glens. Giant Gorge is 
one of the first tremendous rents which we observe 
in the chasms of Chateaugay River, but several other 
precipitously walled canons occur between that point 
and Chateaugay Lake, twenty miles below, where 
the Adirondack Mountain region begins, with its 



FALLS, AUSABLE CHASM. 


GIANT 




.•>4W 




* 

















BRIDAL VEIL FALLS, HAVANA GLEN, NEW YORK. 

















364 AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 

wilderness of untamable savagery, as wild now as when its rugged solitudes were first disturbed by an invading Indian seeking the game 
that there abounded. This darksome haunt of nature is cleft by the Saranac, Raquette, Boquet and Ausable Rivers, and in these gloomy 
recesses whence the day is dispelled are the lake sources of the noble Hudson. 

Crossing over to Lake Champlain, we took a Delaware and Hudson Railroad train at Plattsburgh and rode down to Port Kent and 
thence visited Ausable Chasm near-by. Indian Pass is also in the same vicinity. The scenery is a repetition of that in Watkin’s Glen, 
with the added interest of a 
more considerable stream, upon 
which boating is a royal pleas¬ 
ure. The freshness which 
description by another writer 
may furnish is my excuse for 
introducing the following from 
the pen of Alfred B. Street: 

“At North Elba we crossed 
a bridge where the A u sable 
comes winding down, and then 
followed its banks to the north¬ 
east, with thick woods contin¬ 
ually around us, and the little 
river shooting darts of light at 
us through the leaves. At 
length, a broad summit, rising 
to a taller one, broke above the 
foliage at our right, and at the 
same time a gigantic mass of 
rock and forest saluted us, and 
we stood before the giant por¬ 
tals of the Notch. As we 
entered, the pass suddenly 
shrank, pressing the river into 
a deep and narrow stream. It 
was a chasm cloven boldly 
through White-Face, so that on 
each side towered the mountain 
escarpment; on the left, the 

range rose in still sublimer altitude, with grand precipices, like a majestic wall or a line of palisades, climbing sheer from the half-way 
forest upward. The crowded rows of pines along the broken and wavy crest were diminished to a mere fringe. As we rowed slowly 
through the still narrowing gorge, the mountains soared higher and higher, as if to scale the clouds, presenting truly a terrific aspect. I 
shrank within myself, and appeared to dwindle beneath it. Something akin to dread pervaded the scene. The mountains appeared to be 
knitting their brows into threatening frowns at our daring intrusion into the solitudes. Nothing seemed native to the awful landscape but 


ELBOW FALLS, AUSABLE CHASM. 







hell gate, ausable chasm. 

























VIEW OF THE THOUSAND ISLANDS IN ST. LAWRENCE RIVER 
















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



the plunge of the torrent and the scream of the eagle. Below, at our left, the dark Ausable dashed onward with hoarse, foreboding 
murmurs, in harmony with the loneliness and wildness of the spot.” 

From the top of Mount Marey, overlooking Indian Pass, the view is inspiring in its expansive and tumultous grandeur. Towards 
the southeast gleams the white crest of Boreas Mountain, and rising beyond is the leaning tower-like peak of the Dial, which pays its 
obeisance to Dix’s Peak, that from afar exhibits the form of a crouching lion. “Thence stagger the wild, savage and splintered tops of 
Gothic Mountain, at the Lower 
Ausable Pond, linking them¬ 
selves on the east with the 
Noon-Mark and Roger’s Mount¬ 
ains, that watch over Keene’s 
Valley. To the northeast rise 
the Edmonds Pond Summits— 
the mountain-picture closed by 
the sharp crest of Old White- 
Face, the stately outpost of the 
Adirondacks.” 

A trip through Ausable 
Chasm is one of unspeakable 
delight and enrapturing sur¬ 
prises. Just above the point 
where the chasm begins there 
is an old mill, once run by a 
wheel driven by a sluice con¬ 
nected with the river, but steam 
has superseded this natural 
power and detracted somewhat 
from the interest which would 
otherwise invest the place. 

The dam is still there, how¬ 


ever, and over its brink the 


THE SUMMIT OF WHITE-FACE MOUNTAIN. 


water flows in softest measures, 
to strike the rocky shelves be¬ 
low, where it boils and brawls 
in confused dismemberment un¬ 
til joined again in an unbroken 

stream. The banks rise rapidly, while the river draws deeper into its bed, until presently making a leap at Giant Falls it plunges into a 
great gorge whose walls have been eaten by the floods and ice of centuries. But it is by a succession of falls and cataracts that the stream 
reaches its greatest depression, which is known as the Grand Flume. Elbow Falls scarcely deserve to be dignified by so large a title, as 
they are rapids rather than falls; but for beauty they are almost incomparable, and afford an opportunity for the painter’s brush as great as 
may be found anywhere in the Adirondacks. 






AUSABLE RIVER, NEAR THE HEAD OF THE CHASM 


























3 68 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


The chasm rapidly deepens and narrows below 
Elbow Falls, and becomes a wild gorge of intricate 
mightiness at a point called the Oven. The walls are 
lifted so high above the stream, with their crenated 
fronts exhibiting so many quaintly distorted and terribly 




KAATERSKILL FALLS, CATSKILL MOUNTAINS. 


AUSABLE CHASM, BELOW THE OVEN. 






















GRAND FLUME IN AUSABLE CHASM. 












370 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


jagged projections that the effect is most bewildering, while in places they are opposed with only a few feet between, giving to the passage 
the oppression of a prison. Hell Gate is not inappropriately named, because it is in a way begirt with difficulties that render boating 
dangerous. The river is here greatly compressed, but the channel is not sufficiently deep to hide the sharp-pointed rocks that split the 
stream and convert it into a rapid, but by means of stairs this interrupted water-way may be passed, and below are boats in which 
the pleasant passage may be continued through Grand Flume. This is the loveliest part of the chasm, the most picturesque section of this 
wonderful river, sublime in its 
grandeur, yet idyllic in its poetic 
and dreamy beauty, where the 
Oreads might have sported while 
Diana pursued the deer that 
have for ages made these mount¬ 
ain fastnesses their favorite 
haunts, for 

“Here were her orchards, walled on 
every side, 

To lawless sylvans all access denied.” 

From Ausable station, 
which may be reached by rail, 
a road leads southward through 
Ausable Forks, by White-Face 
Mountain, and thence into the 
very heart of the Adirondacks. 

This remarkable tract lies prin¬ 
cipally between Fakes Cham¬ 
plain and George, and covers 
an area of nearly 5,000 square 
miles, with one arm reaching 
northward to the St. Fawrence 
and another southward as far 
as Saratoga. Within this dis¬ 
trict there are said to be no less 
than 500 mountain peaks, 
several of which are 5,000 feet 
high, measured above the sea 
level, and as many as 1,000 

lakes. Owing to the ruggedness of the country, its dense forests, numerous water-ways and prodigious chasms, the region was a compara¬ 
tively unexplored wblderness forty years ago, and until its vast lumber interest attracted the attention of capitalists. 

Some of the loftiest peaks are Mounts Morris, Marcy,White-Face, Seward, Pharoah, Dix and Snowy Mountain, and of the lakes there 
are Tupper, Saranac, Fong, Avalanche, Clear, Henderson, Raquette, Newcomb, Pleasant, and many others scarcely less in size and famous 
for the game-fish that swarm in their transparent waters. As a hunting-ground the Great North Wilderness, as it is often called, is probably 



BOGG’S RIVER FALLS, ADIRONDACKS. 












MOUNT MORRIS, FROM TUPPER LAKE, ADIRONDACKS. 



BUTTERMILK FALLS, ADIRONDACKS. 





























AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



37 2 

the best now to be found anywhere in the United States, abounding as it does in deer, bear, panther, wolf, wolverene, and immense numbers 
of smaller game, so that whether lost or found, a man with a loaded gun need never go hungry in the Adirondacks. 

It is not surprising that a region noted for its mountains, lakes and dense forests, should abound with features magnificently 
picturesque; and those who 
visit the Adirondacks in search 
of the wildest beauties of nature 
will not make the trip in vain. 

It is the Switzerland of America, 
equaling the best scenery of 
that country, and exceeding it 
in some respects, notably its 
intricate chain of lakes, its 
flaming chasms, and the soli¬ 
tudes of its deep wildernesses, 
so tangled and intricate that 
more than two-thirds remain 
yet to be explored. Night 
in these fastnesses is inexpres¬ 
sibly doleful and at times fearful. 

The Black Forest of Germany 
is not nearly so lonely, nor is 
the Brocken so ominous with 
its colossal specter as the mount¬ 
ain summits of the Adirondacks, 
clothed with evergreens and 
groves of birch, maple, beech, 
ash and cedar, in which the 
bear, wolf and wild-cat have 
their lairs. In these wild seclu¬ 
sions, the recesses of dark 
valleys and the dreary isolation 
of soaring peaks, darkness is 
enthroned and veiled by shad¬ 
ows, amid which savage animals 
and dusky night-birds hold their 
carnivals. The catamount sets 
up a chilling wail that brings 

response from the deep-voiced loon that keeps his lonely watch on a lake far below; then across a stretch of deep wood falls the hooting 
echo of a solemn owl,whose complainings excite condolement of whip-poor-will and katydid, and the chorus thus begun is taken up and joined 
in by a thousand whimpering, screeching, strident and wailing things that make the lonesome forest their assembling place. 






-T. 




ADIRONDACK LODGE AND CLEAR LAKE. 











WEST POINT, FROM EAGLE’S REST. 


































374 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



But when the sun is above the mountains and setting the landscape aglow with cheerful beams, these same fastnesses are a realm of 
romantic delight, for every peak is reflected in some lovely lake, while waterfalls appear to be pouring out of the sky and go chasing down 
the verdant slopes playing higli-spy among the coverts and making the woods musical with their laughter. Near Ausable Ponds, guarded 
by Mount Marcy, are the beautiful Rainbow Falls, a very flood of opals, so irridescent does it appear when its waters catch the sunbeams. 
And near Tupper Lake are the Bogg’s River Falls, or cascades, that make the surrounding forest resound with their roaring, for they discharge 
an immense flood over a rock-infested course, and swell into a river a mile below. 

Near the western margin of the Adirondacks is Long Lake, narrow as a river and many miles in length, but so still and crystalline 
that the lordly lake-trout may be seen 
sporting in its deepest water, as if chal¬ 
lenging an angler. Its outlet is by way 
of a stream that flows by Owl’s Head 
and into Forked Lake. Between these 
points is Buttermilk Falls, stately and 
impetuous, but symmetrical and rhyth¬ 
mic, as it courses over gentle terraces and 
drops, step by step, into the rapids which 
crowd from shore to shore and keep the 
stream in a state of constant agitation. 

Northeast of Buttermilk Falls is 
Adirondack station, on Henderson Lake, 
which is the central point of this whole 
mountain region, and a place where 
tourists are usually found in large num¬ 
bers. Near the north end of the lake is 
Wall-Face Mountain, commanding an 
extensive view, and midway is Indian 
Pass, which is a tremendous chasm 
through what is known as the Dismal 
Wilderness. Notwithstanding the large 
number of visitors who annually summer 
in the vicinity, so dense is the forest and 
jungle-growth that surrounds the Pass, 
and so inaccessible the deepest portions 
of the gorge, that very few explorers have succeeded in making their way through it, and no one is sufficiently familiar with the region to 
act as a competent guide. It has been ascertained, however, that within the Pass, which is intersected by several streams, are springs 
which are the source of Ausable River, which, emptying into Champlain, finds an outlet into the Atlantic by way of the St. Lawrence, and 
also of the Hudson, whose drainage is in the opposite direction; and yet so close are these springs that it is possible to drink from each 
without shifting one’s position. In this vicinity is Gill Brook, which is picturesquely broken by Surprise Falls, composed of a 
succession of sharp leaps over limestone ledges, but so narrow that the forest trees form a perfect canopv above, excluding a sight of both 
river and falls until the visitor approaches within a few feet of the stream. But the entire region so abounds with lakes, mountains, gorges, 


RAINBOW FALLS IN WINTER, ADIRONDACKS. 





THE HUDSON NARROWS, NEAR PEEKSKILL, 





















































































37 ^ 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



waterfalls and cataracts that to describe all its attractions would be wearisome iteration, for there is an unavoidable sameness in the pen- 
pictures of scenery, however variable in character. 

Having made a tour of the Adirondacks, and taken many photographs of the superb scenery which distinguishes it, we took train at 
Saranac Lake station, the south¬ 
ern terminus of the Chateaugay 
Railroad, and returned to Platts¬ 
burgh. From that point we 
proceeded south by the Dela¬ 
ware and Hudson Railroad, 
along the west shore of Cliam- 
plain, by Ticonderoga, and 
thence to Glen’s Falls, to obtain 
a picture of the Hudson where 
it pours over rocky ledges in 
great volume and is converted 
into a terrible cataract that is 
worth many miles of travel to 
see. Our way was then con¬ 
tinued southward to Albany, 
and thence into the Catskills, 
which begin about one hundred 
miles south of the Adirondacks. 

These mountains are unlike 
any others in America, in that 
while every other range pos¬ 
sesses peaks with jagged points, 
generally of stones tumbled in 
confusion, the Catskills have 
gracefully rounded summits, 
which, though sometimes rising 
to a height of four thousand 
feet, yet exhibit few effects of 
aberrant forces; nor are they 
covered with huge rocks, such 
as characterize all other ranges. 

The scenery, therefore, while 
grand, is very tame as com¬ 
pared with the Adirondacks, and but for the fine drive-ways through the valleys and over their crowns, would be monotonous. But this 
sameness is occasionally diversified, and the visitor is led on to expect more beauties than he really finds. The one attractive and justly 
famous feature of this mountain region is Kaaterskill Falls. These are reached by the Catskill Mountain Railroad from Catskill, on the 


SURPRISE FALLS AND GILL BROOK, IN THE ADIRONDACKS. 





AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


3 77 



Hudson, stopping at Mountain House station, from which eminence, 2,250 feet above the river, an extensive view may be had, taking in 
Albany, the Hudson Highlands, Berkshire Hills and the Green Mountains. It is even said that by means of a good glass on a clear day 
portions of Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey may be descried, but during our visit the atmospheric conditions were unfavorable. 
Two miles from the Mountain House, and reached by a beautiful road, are the celebrated Kaaterskill Falls, at the head of which is located 
the Laurel House, from which 
a fine view of Round Top and 
High Peak may be had, as well 
as of the falls themselves. But 
the best sight is obtained by 
descending a spiral stairway 
into the gorge below and look¬ 
ing upward. The falls are 
formed by the overflow of North 
and South Lake, which pours 
through a double cleft and de¬ 
scends in two cascades, the first 
having a drop of 180 feet, and 
the second eighty feet; but a 
short distance below there is 
another fall, known as the Bas¬ 
tion, which has a further descent 
of forty feet. Beautiful as they 
are, candor compels the state¬ 


ment, however disparaging it 
may appear, that the falls are 
remittent, and that people may 
visit them without seeing any 
such display of waters as we 
have described. The supply 
being limited, a dam has been 
constructed across the verge of 
the cliff, and is opened only on 
special and rare occasions, when 
the number of incredulous sum¬ 
mer visitors is great enough to 
make it necessary to turn on 
the water, to show that the falls 

are still active. There is some very pretty scenery in the region of Kaaterskill Clove, notably Hams’ Falls, Fawn-Leap Falls and High 


r 


BRIDGE OVER GLEN’S FALLS, NEW YORK. 


Rocks, but a fee is charged at every point of interest, and the visitor is so harrowed by the showmen of nature that he is in no disposition to 
appreciate the view which he pays to see, and is almost certain to leave the Catskills with a bad impression—even worse than the mountains 











































AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


deserve. It was with such feelings that we set out by rail for Kingston, and there took boat down the Hudson River for New York, but' 
stopped for a while at West Point en route. 

The scenery about West Point is of almost matchless grandeur, and every consideration is present to confirm the wisdom of the 
Congress of 1812 in establishing a military training-school at this point. The fort on the river-shore is in a position to command the 
approaches north and south, while at the foot of the highlands is a level stretch, as though prepared by nature for a Champ des Mars, or 
parade-ground. The hills rise abruptly from the rear of the training-plaza, and from their summits an inspiring view is to be had. 
Sweeping the horizon, we clearly discern the Break-Neck, Crow’s Nest, and Storm King Mountains, with blue valleys stretching away 
between, and the majestic Hudson washing the feet of these and many other noble hills. The academy, besides being scenically and 
advantageously situated, is in a very 
realm of romance, around which cluster 
many memories of the greatest writers 
of fiction that our country has the honor 
of claiming. It was the Crow’s Nest 
that gave the inspiration to Joseph 
Rodman Drake for his exquisite poem 
entitled the “ Culprit Fay,” so charm¬ 
ingly realistic that the fairies of his 
verse still exist in fancy, just as the 
mountain spirits who tricked Rip Van 
Winkle still haunt the deep forests of 
the Catskills and play at nine-pins on the 
peak that overlooks the faded village of 
Falling Water. Near Cold Spring, 
which is in this same historic land, was 
“Undercliff,” the home of George P. 

Morris, and where he wrote that patri¬ 
otic and moving tribute to a sheltering 
tree, the figure of our American Union, 

‘ ‘ Woodman Spare that Tree. ’ ’ So was 
“Idlewild,” the villa of N. P. Willis, 
close-by, and hereabout also Washing¬ 
ton Irving spent much of his time gath¬ 
ering traditions from descendants of the LOOKING NORTH FROM WEST POINT, NEW ’tORK. 

old Dutch colonists for his imperishable “Sketch Book” tales. But history as indelibly fixes West Point in the minds of Americans as the 
stories of famous fiction-writers, for the site of the training-school was, in Revolutionary times, occupied by Fort Putnam, erected under 
the direction of Kosciuszko; and it was at West Point that Benedict Arnold consummated his traitorous deal with Major Andre, to deliver 
that post into the hands of the British. On the opposite shore is the mouth of a pretty stream called the Mooda, but which in earlier 
times was known as Murderer’s Creek, on account of the slaughter by a band of lurking savages of eight soldiers who were sent with 
buckets to fetch water forjthe camp near-by. A little way below is Milton’s Ferry, a spot famous as the place of residence of a patriot 
blacksmith who made the great chain that stretched across the river at old Fort Montgomery, to prevent the passage of British ships. For 








BREAK-NECK HILL, ON THE HUDSON RIVER, NEW YORK, 























AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


380 



this service he was taken captive shortly after and kept in close confinement on an English ship until his death. Newburgh is also only a 
few miles away, smiling benignly from terraced banks upon the river below; and conspicuous among its old houses is one in which Wash¬ 
ington had his headquarters in 1780, and which is changed but little in appearance since he ocmipied it. 

It is below West Point that the principal places of scenic and historic interest occur, and these crowd rapidly upon one another until 
Yonkers is reached. At the base of Sugar-Eoaf Mountain is a bluffy projection upon which Fort Independence, of Revolutionary times, 
was built, and near-by is But¬ 
termilk Falls, that runs down a 
succession of sharp ledges one 
hundred feet. Anthony’s Nose 
is on the right, rising to a 
height of nine hundred feet, 
and overlooking beautiful Ionia 
Island, that seems to swim upon 
the glassy surface of the river, 
like the halcyon isle of fable; 
but on close approach its three 
hundred acres are found to be 
covered with vineyards and its 
shaded. margins the favorite 
gathering-place of merry pic- 
nicers. 

The Highlands come next 
in view, of which Dunderberg 
Mountain, eleven hundred feet 
high, is the most prominent 
object; and then appears Peeks- 
kill, the prettiest town in east¬ 
ern New York. Near this 
place is Caldwell’s Landing, 
distinguished as being the im¬ 
mediate vicinity of Captain 
Kidd’s buried treasure, which 
hundreds have searched for with 
great energy and at immense 
expense, but without reward. 

Remains of Revolutionary forts are seen at Verplanck and Stony Point, and below these the Croton River discharges into the Hudson. Sing 
Sing and Nyack are passed in order, between which the shores are occupied with charming villas, and the landscape here is very picturesque. 
But it is at Tarrytown that visitors find most to interest them, both for the scenic beauty of the neighborhood and the historic prominence 
which attaches to the place. Here it was that Major Andre was arrested, the identical spot being marked by an inscription in the village 
records. The spirit of Washington Irving seems to pervade the locality, for it was in this vicinage that the creatures of his exquisite fancy 


TROPHY GARDEN, WEST POINT. 










STORM KING MOUNTAIN, HUDSON RIVER 





















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


382 


held tlieir lively revels. Sleepy Hollow is near-by, and 
the old bridge over which Ichabod Crane so furiously rode 
in his flight from a headless specter is still shown to visit¬ 
ors as a proof of that legendary race. The Christ Church 
which Irving attended in Tairytown has not been suffered 
to lapse into decay, and the cemetery adjoining the old 
Dutch chitrch, in which his remains find rest, shows the 
reverend respect with which his memory is treasured by 
the villagers, for it is well tended. 

“ Wolfert’s Roost,” or Sunnyside, Irving’s villa, is a 
few miles below, just within the edge of Irvington, on the 
river, but it is hidden from view by the ivy that clambers 
in profusion over its walls, and the dense shrubbery that 
has been allowed to occupy all the ground in the front-yard. 

The old town of Tappan is a short distance from 
Sunnyside, and is memorable as being Washington’s head¬ 
quarters and likewise as the place of Major Andre’s impris¬ 
onment and execution. A monument erected by Cyrus 
Field marks the spot where the gallows stood on which 
that English officer perished. The Palisades next come 
into view, and on the west side is Locust Hill, which was 
the place where the American encampment was estab¬ 
lished in 1781, along the eminences of the Palisades, 
which gave a commanding position to the troops guarding 
against invasion of the British up the river. Yonkers, 
Spuyten Duyvil, and Mount St. Vincent are next passed, 
and the city of New York then looms up, with its wharves 
lined with vessels, whose numerous masts make the shores 
look from a distance like a forest of pines denuded of 
their branches. Here we tarried to await the coming- of 
our two photographers. 

In the meantime, however, there were no idle mo¬ 
ments, for the work of developing the photographs which 
we had taken was now prosecuted with great energy, and 
the finished pictures were sent on as fast as made to our 
photo-engravers for reproduction. Fortunately, too, we 
had so accurately timed the work which each had under¬ 
taken that there was only a few days’ detention in New 
York; little more, in fact, than was necessary to complete 
arrangements for our tour of the South, now to be described. 



Hj' 







LONG GALLERY, AUSABLE CHASM. 




CHAPTER XI. 

A PICTORIAL TOUR OF THE EASTERN STATES. 



>s EXPLAINED in the preceding chapter, one of our photographers was despatched into Canada from Ogdensburg, and instructed to 
take views of the most pleasing scenery of the Dominion, after which to make a tour of the Eastern States and join the others at 
New \ork upon the completion of his labors in that section. While Canada is not a part of the United States, its contiguous 
scenery, some of which is very beautiful, and the intimate relations subsisting between the two countries justify this brief departure 
from our original design, particularly as the most direct route from the West to Northern New Hampshire and Vermont, is 
through the southern part of Canada, where the most interesting and accessible scenery is found. Crossing the St. Lawrence at 
Ogdensburg to Prescott, our artist proceeded to Ottawa, fifty-four miles distant, by the Canadian Pacific Railroad, for the purpose of taking 

views of Chaudiere Falls, which are famous alike for their size and grandeur. 
The city of Ottawa extends for a distance of two miles along Ottawa River, 
and is one of the most picturesque sites in Ontario, located as it is on the 
banks of a beautiful stream, and in the center of a region that is famous for 
its charming scenery. The Rideau River debouches into the Ottawa at 
Chaudiere (Caldron) Falls, and its bluffy shores, 160 feet high, are ornate 
with splendid buildings. The Rideau Canal, which skirts the east side of 
Parliament Hill, separates the higher from the lower town, and south of this 
point is the vast lumber interests, manifested by the large number of saw-mills 
operated principally by power derived from the falls. But it is about Chau¬ 
diere Falls that chief attraction clusters, particularly of visitors, for a more 
entrancing sight can hardly be found in any part of North America. Ottawa 
River is a stream of considerable magnitude, both in width and depth, but at 
the point where the falls appear it is contracted to a width of 200 feet and then 
plunges over a precipice forty feet high, at the mouth of Rideau River. But 
the verge of the ledge is so ragged and curved that the stream is broken, and 
pours down in a swirling motion, which forms a very charybdis below, into 
which it is dangerous for crafts to enter. The volume discharged is almost as 
great as that of Niagara, and the power displayed is wonderful to behold. 
Beautiful, grand and amazing as they are in summer, it is during winter that 
the sublime magnificence of the falls is impressed upon the visitor. Several 
views, from different points of observation, were taken by our photographer, 
but these were rejected to give place to the winter scene here presented, since 
it affords a more perfect idea of the falls in their glory, when the Ice King has 
frozen them into a vision of superlative splendor. 

Three hundred miles northeast of Ottawa, Montreal River, a small but 
noisy stream that is the outlet of a chain of lakes far up in the British posses- 
WINOOSKI RIVER GORGE, VERMONT. sions, flows into the Ottawa River, and twenty miles above its mouth are 


383 






AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


384 


Montreal Rapids, a picture of which was 
obtained from a local photographer at Ottawa, 
and is here reproduced as affording an idea of 
the scenery in that great northern and almost 
unexplored region. 

From Ottawa the trip was continued by 
boat one hundred miles to Montreal. This 
route affords a view of Rake St. Louis, Nun’s 
Island, and Lachine Rapids, the most dan¬ 
gerous part of St. Lawrence River, yet it is 
every day traversed by pleasure steamers, of 
which a traveler has thus graphically written: 
1 ‘ In the descent of these rapids we are wrought 
to a feverish degree of excitement, exceeding 
that produced in the passage of the Long 
Sault. It is an intense sensation, and though 
perfectly safe, is terrible to the faiut-hearted, 
exhilarating to the brave. Opposite Lachine 
is the quaint Indian village of Caughnawago, 
where still reside descendants of the once- 
powerful Iroquois Nation. The immense steel 
bridge spanning the St. Lawrence at this point 
is justly considered one of the engineering 
triumphs of the century. It was built by the 
Canadian Pacific Railway, is about a mile 
long, with two channel spans of 408 feet, and 
lofty enough to allow free passage to the 
largest steamers. From this bridge a fine 
view is obtained of the rapids, villages on either 
shore, loftiest structures in Montreal, and the 
distant mountains.” 

Montreal is the metropolis of Canada, 
having a population of about 220,000, and 
being at the head of ship navigation, has 
improved its advantages and become the chief 
commercial port of the Dominion. The name 
is derived from Mount Royal, which rises 700 
feet above the river, the eminence which 
Jacques Cartier ascended in 1535, and looked 
with startled eyes upon the palisaded Indian 



TOBOGGAN SLIDE AT MONTREAL. 











2 5 


CHAUDIERE FALLS NEAR OTTAWA, CANADA, IN WINTER 











3 86 

town of Hoclielaga, surrounded by vast fields 
of grain, at the west base of the mountain. 
•Sixty years later, when Samuel de Champlain 
made his way up the St. Lawrence and 
climbed to the summit of Mount Royal, he 
looked in vain for the town which Cartier had 
•discovered and described. Only two of the 
native Indians of Hoclielaga were found, from 
whom was learned the tragic history of the 
place, the inhabitants of which had been 
exterminated and the town destroyed by a rival 
tribe. 

Montreal is situated on an island of the 
same name, and the eminences about it were 
so important as vantage-places that during the 
French and Indian wars (in 1665), the mount 
was fortified by the French, and in 1722 a 
citadel was erected on a height now laid out as 
Dalliousie Square. In its early history, there¬ 
for^, the city was the scene of many incidents 
of Indian warfare, and was on disputed ground 
until the surrender of Quebec, in 1759, when 
the English gained permanent possession of 
the place. 

The scenery in the neighborhood of 
Montreal is pleasant, but not particularly 
attractive; yef the severity of the weather and 
the long reaches of graceful hills thereabout 
afford opportunity for the most enjoyable 
winter sports. Tobogganing is a favorite pas¬ 
time in season, and the most charming scenes 
imaginable may be witnessed by a visit to the 
west side slide when a heavy snow has pre¬ 
pared the ground for the host of red-cheeked 
merry-makers, who flock there by thousands 
with their toboggans, and fly down the hill in 
long lines of variegated color. Winter is the 
carnival season, and for some years Montreal 
has been specially distinguished by the brilliant 
fetes which her leading citizens have provided 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



MONTMORENCI FALLS, NEAR QUEBEC. 

















REPRESENTATIONS OF WINTER CARNVIAL SCENES AT MONTREAL. 




















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


388 

notably that of 1888. On this occasion the 
city was a scene of extraordinary splendor, 
exceeding, in the magnificent sights afforded, 
the carnivals that take place on the frozen 
waters of the Neva River, before the Russian 
capital of St. Petersburg, famous alike in song 
and story. The great ice-palace, of which an 
illustration is here given, was a most exquisite 
imitation of mediaeval architecture, rivaling in 
its imposing and charming appearance the 
finest castles of the old world. When illum¬ 
inated by thousands of lights, the palace pre¬ 
sented a scene which must ever remain fadeless 
in the memory of those who witnessed it. 
But to increase the beautiful effect, the city’s 
population turned out in the-gayest of winter 
attire, filling the spacious ball-room of the 
palace with a marvelous display of color in 
graceful evolution, while outside the gay 
revelers sported as jolly maskers and filled the 
air with songs of glee. A similar carnival 
was held at St. Paul in 1889, and an ice-palace 
of equal proportions was constructed in honor 
of the Frost King, with grand illuminations 
and display of fire-works at night, as illus¬ 
trated in a previous chapter, but no fete ever 
o-iven on the western continent is believed to 

o 

have been so magnificent as that of Montreal 
in 1888. 

From Montreal the journey was continued 
over the Canadian Pacific Railroad to Quebec, 
distant one hundred and thirty-five, miles, and 
along the north shore of the St. Lawrence, 
in sight of that river most of the way, so that 
the view is a very attractive one. Quebec, the 
third largest city in the Dominion of Canada, 
with a population of 70,000, has much to 
recommend it, both commercially and scen- 
ically, for it is the center of vast lumber and 
mining interests, the head of navigation for 



ST. ANNE FALLS, NEAR QUEBEC. 





SCENERY ALONG THE LINE OF THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY 







390 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


the largest steamers of the line, 
and is advantageously located on 
a headland commanding the St. 
Lawrence. A large part of the 
city lies under what is known as 
Cape Diamond Promontory, upon 
the summit of which, 350 feet 
above the river, is the Citadel, a 
fortification so nearly impregnable 
that Quebec has been called the 
American Gibraltar, a designation 
more deserved because of the 
many attacks which its garrisons 
have repulsed. The Plains of 
Abraham are southwest of the 
suburb of St. Louis, and from that 
eminence a wide and truly mag¬ 
nificent view is obtained, extend¬ 
ing to the Green Mountains on the 
south and the Laurentian Range 
on the north, with glimpses of nu¬ 
merous rivers and lakes between. 

The entire province of Quebec 
is remarkably well watered and 
timbered, with sections of forests 
so dense that much of it still re¬ 
mains to be explored. Eight 
miles from the city are the famous 
Montmorency Falls, which have a 
leap over natural steps of 250 feet 
and pour down an immense vol¬ 
ume, whose roaring may be heard 
on calm days for a distance of 
many miles. Near the falls is a 
hotel called the Haldimand House, 
which was once the residence of 
Queen Victoria’s father, the Duke 
of Kent. Sixty miles north, 
and reached by the Quebec and 
Lake St. John Railroad, is Lake 



WINOOSKI FALLS, VERMONT. 









A SYLVAN STREAM IN VERMONT 
















392 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


St. John, a large and pellucid body of water whose outlet is the 
Saguenay River, and one of the most wonderful streams on earth. 
Bayard Taylor says of it: “It is not properly a river, but a tremen¬ 
dous chasm, like that of the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea, cleft for 
sixty miles through the heart of a mountainous wilderness. Every¬ 
thing about it is hard, naked, stern, silent. Dark-grey cliffs of granite 
gneiss rise from the pitch-black water; firs of gloomy green are rooted 
in their crevices and fringe their summits; loftier ranges of a dull 
indigo hue show themselves in the background, and over all bends a 
pale, cold, northern sky.” 

The Saguenay is sometimes called the River of Death, on account 
of its somber waters and the deep gorge through which it sluggishly 
moves. Its depth is also remarkable, ranging from 100 to 1,000 feet, 
and along its course are several pretty falls, where the stream suddenly 
contracts, and rapids where it expands and the occasional shoals appear. 
The country about Quebec is pleasingly diversified, and abounding with 
forests and lakes is a very paradise for hunters and fishers, as well as 
affording views worthy of the artist’s best efforts. Some ten miles 
above the city, and forming an outlet for Rake Megantic, on the south 
side of the St. Rawrence, is Chaudiere, or Boiling River, an impetu¬ 
ous, but noble stream, whose erratic course is interrupted by Chau¬ 
diere Falls, where the river takes a plunge over a precipice 125 feet 
high and 350 feet wide. Having expended its vigor in this violent 
exercise, the river flows on thenceforth in a subdued and gentle 
manner, in remarkable contrast with the character which it displays 
above the falls. 

Other famous falls in the vicinity of Quebec are those of the 
Seuzzie, near North Bend, and St. Anne Falls, on the north shore of 
the St. Rawrence, twenty miles below the city, where the river St. 
Anne, a small confluent of that stream, breaks over a brink one hun¬ 
dred feet high, and pours through crevices worn in the Raurentian rocks 
in a succession of cascades of great beauty. While the scenery of 
Southern Canada is very charming, it is the boundary outposts of very 
much more magnificent landscapes towards the south, and it was 
towards the mountainous districts of Vermont and New Hampshire 
that our artist bent his way after concluding a tour of the vicinity of 
Quebec. The journey was, therefore, by way of the Grand Trunk and 
Vermont Central Railroad into the heart of Green Mountains. This 
route took our photographer by the Euosburgh Falls, St. Albans and 
Essex Junction, from which latter place a detour was made down the 



PEACOCK FALLS, GREEN MOUNTAINS. 







AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


393 




famous Winooski River to embalm some of the remarkable scenery along that stream. Its source is in the spurs of Green Mountains, 
whence it flows northwestwardly, cleaving the range near its junction with Waterbury River, and then speeds through a chasm until it 
empties into Lake Champlain. This wild gorge is particularly wonderful some four or five miles from the lake, the walls rising at places 
fully one hundred feet and exhibiting the same cleavage and jagged precipices that distinguish Ausable Chasm, on the opposite side of the lake. 
At the town of Winooski, the river flows over a dam two hundred feet wide and twenty-five feet high, but before the dam was constructed, 
to afford power for several mills, the river here was a long stretch of cascades and cataracts, a condition which is still continued below the 
falls and to its place of outlet. From Essex Junction the Vermont Central follows the Winooski to Montpelier, passing the beautiful town 

of Waterbury, which is the pass of Green Mountains and the center of some of the 
finest scenery in the State. From Waterbury it is only ten miles by stage to Mount 
Mansfield, which is the loftiest peak in the range (4,389 feet), and from the summit 
of which a splendid view is had of lovely valleys, gushing streams and battalions of 
graceful mountains. In this same vicinity, checkered by many mountain streams, 
are Peacock Falls, Bingham Falls, Moss-Glen Falls, Morrisville Falls, and others of 
lesser note but 
equal beauty. 

At the base of 
Mansfield Peak 
is a stage sta¬ 
tion, called 
Stowe, from 
which the 
crown of the 
m o u n t a i n is 
plainly observ¬ 
able, exhibit¬ 
ing the distinct 
features of a 
giant, whose 
forehead, nose 
and chin are 
formed by two 
rents in the 
summit, mak- 

CLARENDON GORGE, VERMONT. j the propor . WINOOSKI RIVER, NEAR MIDDLESEX, VERMONT. 

tions, as well as the outlines, so perfect that visitors are quick to discover the likeness even before a guide calls attention to it. Camel’s 
Hump is another mountain, five miles from Waterbury, the second highest in the range (4,000 feet), but its surface is so broken that no 
wagon-road has as yet been made to the summit, but a horse may be ridden to the top, and the ascent, accomplished at whatever expense 
of effort, is well repaid by the magnitude and magnificence of the scenery thus brought into view. Balton Falls are within five miles of 
the Hump, and are a shrine of beauty to which hundreds of summer visitors pay the tribute of admiration. 

From Montpelier the Vermont Central turns south, following a tributary of the Winooski to Roxbury, thence it strikes the valley of 












394 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


White River, down which it continues to the Connecticut River; but this latter region is more subdued than the section just described. 
The scenery, while not so grand and mountainous, possesses a beauty to excite the fancy of a poet and day-dreamer, for the views are of 
gentle meandering streams roaming through woods where fairies might love to dwell, singing their lonesome lullabies to the deep coverts that 



bend low along the shores. Dainty waterfalls, murmuring rapids, sylvan shades, distinguish the way of many brooks that roll out of mount¬ 
ain springs and run down to the sea, giving drink to the farmers’ herds, trundling old water-mills, and doing many kind offices on the way. 

Another branch of the Ver¬ 
mont Central runs due south 
from Essex Junction and Bur¬ 
lington, on the shore of Lake 
Champlain, and passes through 
many thriving villages, such as 
New Haven, Middlebury, Bran¬ 
don and Rutland. At this 
latter point, which is on a 
considerable stream called Otter 
Creek, some very charming 
scenery occurs, not entirely con¬ 
fined to the creek, which, how¬ 
ever, is a stream almost as 
remarkable as the Winooski. 

At a place called Clarendon 
Gorge the creek flows through 
a chasm some thirty feet deep 
.and so narrow that when the 
foliage of the banks is heaviest 
the stream is almost entirely 
hidden by the overlacing 
branches of opposite trees. 

Here the stream makes a sharp 
turn, and in doing so has cut 
deeply into the rock-shore 
against which it strikes, and 
formed a deep pool in which 
fish fairly swarm, and hence at 
all seasons the angler here may 

find the choicest sport. The Green Mountain Range is within five miles of Rutland, and several outlying peaks are much nearer, such as 
Paco, Killingston, Shrewsbury and Bald Peaks, which are of sufficient altitude to give the summit-observer a good view of Lake George 
and the Adirondacks. The road continues southwest from Rutland through a pass in the Green Mountains at Healdville and joins the more 
eastern section at Bellows Falls, on the Connecticut River. 

At Montpelier our photographer proceeded due east over the Montpelier and Wells River Railroad to Woodsville, a route which follows 


A RURAL SCENE IN VERMONT. 













' AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 395 

a third confluent of the Winooski for some miles to Marshfield station, where it makes an elbow-turn southwest by Peabody’s Lake, and 
tlienee keeps close to the bank of Wells River, a small stream that discharges into the Connecticut at Woodsville. i he region thus 
traversed is somewhat broken, but is highly cultivated; and the farm scenes along the way are particularly charming. Agriculture in the 
Eastern States exhibits a striking contrast with that in the West, and in Vermont and New Hampshire the dissimilarity of method and the 
size of farm is especially great. The soil down east, in the sections named, has to be reclaimed, not from the forests so much as from the 

rocks, for it is essentially a 
rocky country. The fences 
are usually made of stumps and 
stones, material which is plen¬ 
tifully at hand, so that the barb¬ 
wire trust has no grip upon 
New England agriculturists. 
The farms, too, are what West¬ 
erners would call “small acre- 
patches,” but they are so in¬ 
dustriously and intelligently 
tilled that every foot of ground 
is made to yield its full capac¬ 
ity. Frugal, yet hospitable— 
poor, maybe, yet refined—the 
down-east farmer is a hard 
worker, a lover of books, pa¬ 
tient, contented, and, withal, a 
generous man, philosophic and 
industrious enough to extract 
happiness out of harsh natural 
conditions. 

Woodsville is at the junc¬ 
tion of the Ammoonoosuc with 
the Connecticut River, along 
the valley of which former 
stream the railroad runs until 
it strikes the White Mountains, 
into which region of world- 
FALLS OF THE AMMOONOOSUC, IN THE WHITE MOUNTAINS. famous scenery our artist jour¬ 

neyed. A branch of the road extends south to a terminus at Profile House, which is at the base of Profile Mountain, in the Franconia 
Range. This peak, which is 4,000 feet above the sea, possesses two remarkable features that have served to make it known throughout 
the world. At the crown there are several colossal stones, so distributed by chance that when viewed from Profile Mountain House they 
resemble a mounted cannon, on which account the peak is often called Mount Cannon. But a greater natural curiosity occurs to visitors 
after 1 200 feet of the ascent is made, for suddenly there appears the bold and exceedingly well-defined features of “The Old Man of the 











AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


396 



Mountains,” formed by three masses of rock so disposed that its ninety feet of face exhibits the clean-cut characteristics of forehead, nose,, 
lips and chin perfectly outlined against the sky. A few feet below the point of observation, where the old man’s face is exposed, the stone 
giant changes his features like a magician and becomes “a toothless old woman in a mop-cap.” Hawthorne has used tliis wonderful image 
to excellent effect in his “Twice-Told Tales,” in which the Great Stone Face is made the subject of a weird theme. Still nearer the base 
of the mountain is an exquisite lakelet known as the “Old Man’s Wash-bowl,” just large enough for the purpose, but full of fish, and from 
the shore of which a splendid 
view of Eagle Cliff may be had. 

In the immediate neighborhood 
is the lofty peak of Mount La¬ 
fayette, 5,269 feet above the 
sea, from whose wind-swept 
head a landscape of marvelous 
diversity and beauty may be 
surveyed, including miles of 
the Green Mountain Range and 
the entire aggregation of White 
Mountain peaks. 

Less than one mile from 
Profile House, and reached by 
a perfect carriage-road, is Fran¬ 
conia’s cliiefest marvel, known 
as the Flume. Six hundred feet 
of cascades go churning their 
way through a fissure whose 
vertical walls are sixty feet high 
and less than twenty feet apart. 

In this chasm is the Flume, 
along the narrow confines of 
which a plank-walk has been 
built to permit visitors to ob¬ 
serve more closely the wonders 
that nature has planted along 
this mountain brook. One mile 
south are the Georgianna Falls, 
the largest yet discovered in 

the mountainous districts of the State, plunging in successive leaps over two precipices, each eighty feet in height, and scattering their 
spray into vapor that keeps the vicinity drenched. Other mountain or detached peaks near-by are Lincoln, Liberty, Flume, and Big 
Coolidge; while further towards the east, yet in sight, are North, and South, Twin, Lowell, Carrigan and Huntington, from any of which 
magnificent views are obtainable. 


THE FLUME, NEAR PROFILE HOUSE, FRANCONIA MOUNTAINS. 


Turning back north from Profile House, our artist proceeded west from Bethlehem Junction over the Maine Central Railway, and 













ELEPHANT’S HEAD AND MOUNT WEBSTER, NEAR CRAWFORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE 


















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


398 



after a short ride reached Fabvan’s, where the scenery of the White Mountains broke upon his enraptured vision in all its glory. Two miles 
below is Crawford’s Notch, the natural pass into the range, and here the visitor has his surprise as well as admiration quickened by a sight 
of the “Elephant’s Head.” Standing on the piazza of a hotel at Crawford’s, the enormous head and trunk seem to be just emerging from 
the deep woods near the entrance to the pass, and the gray of the granite slope serves to strengthen the illusion. From the Elephant’s Head 
Hotel there is a particularly fine 
view of the Notch, a gigantic 
cleft through which the Titans 
may have forced a way, but 
which is now utilized by the 
railroad. It is from this point 
that excursions to the summit of 
Mount Washington, by way of 
the bridle-path opened by Tlios. 

J. Crawford in 1840, are made. 

A great majority of persons pre¬ 
fer the easier ascent by means 
of the cog-wheel railroad, which 
was completed in 1869, and re¬ 
quires one and one-half hours 
to make the trip, the fare being 
$6.00. The summit of Mount 
Washington is 6,293 feet above 
sea level; and as the rail distance 
is three miles, the grade is very 
great, in one place being a rise 
of one foot in three, or 33 per 
cent. To secure perfect safety 
the track is composed of three 
rails bolted to a trestle of heavy 
timbers, the center rail being 


an immense wrought-iron 


ladder, with rounds four inches 
apart, into which the cogs of 
the locomotive drive-wheels fit, 
and thus drag the train up the 
steep, as well as control it in 
making the descent, though 

automatic air-brakes are itsed in emergencies. But though the rail route, in swinging seats, is more comfortable and expeditious, if time 
be any consideration, the carriage-road is almost as popular with travelers, who, as a rule, are willing to make sacrifices, if by so doing 
they obtain the recompense of grander sights. As our artist had made the ascent of Pike’s Peak by car, he concluded to take in the larger 


CRAWFORD HOUSE NOTCH, NEW HAMPSHIRE. 






MOUNT WASHINGTON AND COG-WHEEL RAILROAD, WHITE MOUNTAINS. 


































400 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



experience of gaining the summit of Mount Washington by stage, that he might be better able to report the contrast. Though the distance 
by rail is only three miles, by wagon-road it is ten, so winding is the way, and to add to the distress of the latter journey, the first four 
miles is toilsome without revealing any scenery worth the effort of a glance. But above the four-mile point the dreary, tame and desolate 
aspect is succeeded by a landscape that cannot be excelled for magnificence. It is here that the creaking stage emerges from the woods 
that hides the prospect and moves out upon the bare crags, and the Ledge House, or Half-Way Station, is reached, where a stop is made to 
rest the horses and give passengers opportunity and time to drink in the glories of the wondrous view that is thus presented. Far down 
below yawns the measureless void of a tremendous gulf, while above is a colossal pile of granite that supports the dome of Washington and 
a wide-spreading wilderness of 
tumult. Looking off in the dis¬ 
tance from this natural observa¬ 
tory, the presidential peaks of 
Mounts Adams, Jefferson and 
Madison are plainly visible, 
whose aged sides are cloven 
by deep crevasses and their 
feet are hidden in gorges of 
tremendous depths; while 
a glance downward over the 
ragged tops of the forest trees 
discovers Peabody Glen and 
river, with a white spot in the 
fading distance that by aid of 
glass is found to be the Craw¬ 
ford House. Following the 
vale out to its entrance upon 
the Androscoggin Meadows, the 
vision sweeps up Mount Moriah, 
and traversing the Confederate 
Peaks to the summit of Mount 
Carter, finally rests upon the 
brow of Washington, which is 
almost overhead. 

From the Ledge the road 






OU 




SQUAM LAKE, NEW HAMPSHIRE. 


continues its zigzag way up the steep and around dangerously narrow terraces, over which a party of excursionists in a six-horse wagon 
tumbled to their death on the 3d of July, 1880, the only accident that has ever occurred in making the remarkable descent here, however 
perilous appears the passage; and this tragedy was due to a drunken driver. In describing the ascent above Midway House, Mr. Drake 
thus writes: “A sharp turn around a ledge, and the southeast wall of Tuckerman’s Ravine rose up like a wraith out of the forest. 
Nearer at hand was the Head of Huntington’s, while to the right the cone of Washington loomed up gradually, more than a thousand feet 
higher. A little to left you look down into the gloomy depths of Pinkham defile, the valley of Ellis River and the Saco Valley to North 
Conway. The blue course of the Ellis, which is nothing but a long cascade, the rich green of the Conway intervales, the blanched peak o£ 












AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 401 

Chocurua, the sapphire summits of Ossipee Mountains were presented in conjunction with the black and humid walls of the ravine, and the 
iron-gray moss of the great dome. The crag on which I stood leans out over the mountain like a bastion, from which the spectator sees the 
deep-entrenched valleys, the rivers which wash the feet of the monarch, and the long line of summits which partake of his grandeur while 
making it all the more impressive. From here the striking spectacle of four great northern peaks, their naked summits, their sides seamed 
with old and new slides, and flecked with snow, constantly enlarged. There were some terrible rents in the side of Clay, red as half-closed 

wounds, and in one place the 
mountain seemed riven to its 
center. It was this gulf that 
the first climber said it was such 
a precipice he could scarce dis¬ 
cern the bottom. The rifts in 
the walls of the ravine, the 
blasted fir-trees leaning over 
the abyss, and clutching the 
rocks with a death-grip, the 
rocks themselves, tormented, 
formidable, impending, as¬ 
tounded by their vivid portrayal 
of the formless, their sugges¬ 
tions of the agony in which 
these mountains were brought 
forth.” 

But if there be grandeur in 
the chaotic landscape which 
spreads out before the startled 
vision of the spectator on the 
mountain breast, what must be 
the sensation inspired by the 
tremendous view that is afforded 
from the summit? It is the 
feeling of complete separation 
from the earth, of suspension 
in the sky and looking down 
upon the world below. The 
exhilaration that comes from 

conquering a mightv thing; the solemnity of being face to face with infinity. But gradually an orderly array of magnificence and compre¬ 
hensible grandeur appears, as peak upon peak is resolved into definable chains, clusters, or detached masses. Hills draw apart, valleys 
open, streams and cascades sparkle in their tortuous beds, while the skirts of the mountains are dotted with rich colors and the meadow- 
lands become a fringe of emerald encompassing their irregular bases. Almost independent of the will, the eye wanders from summit to 
summit, making a slow circuit of the crenated horizon, until it is arrested by a vast spread of gleaming white that at first sight may be 



UPPER JACKbON FALLS, WILD-CAT RIVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE. 


26 











402 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



mistaken for a : luminous cloud in the southeast. More careful observation reveals that it is the ocean, one hundred miles away, and by the 
help of telescope vessels may be distinguished, and even the number of sails which each craft carries. 

Amazing, splendid, and even thrilling as the view unquestionably is from the top of White Mountain, yet it cannot compare, for 
either extent or grandeur, with that obtained from the summit of Pike’s Peak. Not so great in altitude as its nobler rival of the Rockies, 
it is wanting in other conditions 




to make it equal, chief of which 
is the usually heavy and hazy 
atmosphere that is due to prox¬ 
imity to the sea, thus interfering 
with the range of vision, and 
more frequently interposing 
clouds to shut off the view en¬ 
tirely. 

On the highest point of 
Mount Washington the Gov¬ 
ernment has built an observa¬ 
tory and signal station, and a 
very excellent hotel has also 
been added, for the accommo¬ 
dation of those who desire to 
spend a night at this great 
height, and to experience the 
sensation of a snow-storm in 
mid-summer. A curiosity re¬ 
cently added to the other 
attractions of the summit is an 
electric search-light of 100,000 
candle-power, at a cost of 
$7,000, which is controlled 
from the foot of the tower by 
electric motors. Telegraphic 
signals flashed by this monster 
light have been interpreted at 
Portland, Maine, which is 
eighty-five miles distant. 

From Mount Washington, 

the tourist who delights to revel among the wonderful scenes of this tumultuary aud anarchistic region, where nature is in disarrangement 
through the operation of forces that long since have spent themselves, usually proceeds west by Thorn Hill, through Carter Notch, and thus 
arrives at the village of Jackson, the center of another district of great scenic interest. The town is but a handful of pretty white cottages, 
but it is in the quiet isolation of a mountain-engirdled vale, and the very lonesomeness of its situation gives the place an inexpressible 


LIGHT-HOUSE IN THE HARBOR OF PORTLAND, MAINE. 













LOWER GATEWAY TO CRAWFORD NOTCH. WHITE MOUNTAINS, NEW HAMPSHIRE 
















404 AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 

fascination, for it is like meeting cheerful company in the valley of desolation. The largest house, commanding respect by reason of its 
size, and exciting reverence for its holy purposes, is a frame church, in whose belfry the pigeons swarm, undisturbed by the deep tones of 
the bell that summons the hamlet to worship. How mournfully it peals out the first stroke, as if awakening the town from sleep, so still is 
the place; but from a toll it becomes a chime, as the notes reverberate from hill to hill, until the noise is reassuring, that however lifeless 
things may have seemed, the church-bell has power to stir the people into mental if not physical activity. All about are mountains, Eagle, 
Wild-Cat, Tin, Iron and Thorn, 
the sides of which have been 
cleared of their forest growths 
and stone, and brought under 
cultivation, which add mate¬ 
rially to the picturesque land¬ 
scape of which the village is 
the natural center. 

Wild-Cat River exits the 
town of Jackson in twain, a 
stream which is in fact a mount¬ 
ain cataract, filling the air about 
with its incessant roar. Within 
less than two hundred yards 
of the place the river makes 
a swift descent over granite 
ledges, which it has washed to 
almost whiteness, and near the 
bridge it is divided by a large 
bowlder into two cascades that 
are half-concealed by the rich 
foliage that bends down to re¬ 
ceive the refreshing spray. The 
crest of the falls is split by huge 
stones and the main stream has 
overcome the obstacles in its 
way by cutting a passage under 
the rocks, after which it shoots 
down the ledge and becomes a 
faithful servant to a miller,who 

has utilized its power. Besides these cataracts there are several others, principal among which is Goodrich Falls, at which point the river 
pours its restless flood over a precipice eighty feet high. Bridal Veil Cascades are a mile further up the river, but there is a pleasant bridle¬ 
path all the way, and visitors to this district rarely fail to pay their respects to this very interesting part of the stream. The bed of the river 
is full of enormous bowlders, and its flow takes, accordingly, an erratic course; in fact, in every direction save upward. At the cascades 
the stream is parted by an elevation in the center of the ledge, and thus falls in a double sheet at almost right angles, where, gathering new 



MINOT’S LEDGE LIGHT-HOUSE, OFF COHASSET, MASSACHUSETTS. 











PROSPECT FROM THE SUMMIT OF WHITE MOUNTAINS, NEW HAMPSHIRE 























AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 




406 

force again, it goes rushing away to join the Androscoggin, which bears its waters to the sea. A tour of the mountains having been com¬ 
pleted, our photographer doubled upon his tracks and returned to the Profile House, from which road-terminus he crossed the twelve-mile 
interval to North Woodstock, and there took train on the Concord and Montreal Railroad for points of attraction towards the southwest. 
The mountain region, however, was not yet entirely passed, for many prominent elevations, such as Mounts Moosilauke, Tecumseh, 
Tri-pyratnid, Welch, Fisher, Stinson, Irael, and others, continued in view until Ashland was reached, at which place a stop was made to 
visit Squam Lake, one of the most exquisite sheets of water in the world. It is irregular in shape, but about six miles long by half as many 
broad. The expanse is not great, but the beauties which it presents are charming in the extreme. Over its bosom are scattered numerous 
islands which are very bowers of beauty, green with thickets of hazel and margined with mosaics of wild flowers. The waters are of such 
limpid purity that they swarm with fish, which may be seen frisking and playing tag twenty feet below the surface. The shores are banked 
but level, and along the edge is a perfect carriage-road, making a 
circuit of twenty-one miles, affording the finest excursion that can be 
.made by vehicle. Squam Lake is separated from Lake Winnipiseogee 

by a strip of land two 
miles wide, and the 
village of Center Har¬ 
bor lies on the west 
shore of the latter, 
where steamer may be 
taken for a ride to 
Wolfborongh, twelve 
miles distant. The 
trip is a delightful one 
through narrow chan¬ 
nels between islands of 
exceeding beauty, so 
thickly strewed over 
the water as to make 
the way appear like a 
labyrinth. Six miles 
northwest of the lake 
is an eminence over 
two thousand feet 


COG-WHEEL RAILWAY UP MT. WASHINGTON. 


MONUMENT AT PLYMOUTH ROCK, MASSACHUSETTS. 


high, known as Red Hill, which is annually visited by maay hundreds of tourists. There is a good carriage-road to the base, but the 
ascent is so steep and rugged that by foot or horse-back is the only means for gaining the summit. Though not nearly so lofty as a 
score or more of the mountains we have mentioned, yet visitors maintain that the view afforded from its peak exceeds in extent and mag¬ 
nificence that obtained from the observatory of Mount Washington or the summits of any of its brothers. This superiority is due to the 
absence of intervening peaks, as Red Hill is isolated, and overlooks a comparatively level district, in which Squam and Winnipiseogee 
Lakes are conspicuously visible, with their ragged shore-lines and lovely islands clearly definable. 

From Wolfborough the route was east by the Maine Central Railroad to Portland, and thence by steamer to Boston. There are many 
beautiful places in the vicinity of Portland, and particularly about the popular summer resorts of Mount Desert Island and Bar Harbor; but 


















BRIDAL VEIL CASCADE, WHITE MOUNTAINS 












AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


408 

much must be sacrificed to the limit of space, 
for no one book can ever contain pictures of 
all the natural scenery that is worthy to be 
reproduced. Among other photographs 
taken in and about Portland, we have room 
for only one, viz.: the light-house on Cape 
Elizabeth, in the harbor, a dreary desolation 
of stone, where the ocean is treacherous and a 
warning to incoming vessels is indispensable. 

Boston is historic ground, around which 
are many sacred spots perpetuated in patri¬ 
otic memories. It is a great city; but the 
traveled visitor is indifferent to municipal 
sights, and is restless to pay his tribute of 
respect and curiosity to those shrines that 
keep in mind the reverent character of the 
Puritan, and the heroism of the Revolution¬ 
ary soldier. It is hard to resist this infectious 
temptation to photograph monuments and 
battle-fields, when one is walking upon the 
very famous dust, and reading inscriptions 
recording the valor of those who fought for 
our National Independence; but this is a 
volume devoted to American scenery rather 
than to American history, a subject which 
ought to inspire equal patriotic sentiment, 
and monumental tributes must therefore be 
omitted, or casually mentioned by incidental 
reference, as may appear proper. 

From Boston our artist proceeded by a 
train on the Old Colony Railroad to Cohasset, 
a town which it has been truthfully said 
marks one of the most interesting, most 
wildly beautiful bits of nature on any coast. 

“This town,” let it be said, “marks 
one of the most interesting, most wildly 
beautiful bits of nature on any known coast. 
In this situation are to be found all the 
beauties and all the terrors which ocean 
scenes can compass. The history of Cohasset, 



THE OLD TOWER AT NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND. 













AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 409 

for the past two hundred and fifty years, has in it an element personal to every civilized people on the globe, since all have sent their ships 
and their travelers this way, and added names to the death-roll hereabouts. The crags and ledges along these shores have taken part in 
ocean tragedies for generations, and have witnessed more of human suffering and the extremity of distress than often falls to the lot of natural 
scenes. Upon their faces the ocean surges have never ceased to dash themselves since the morning of creation. Here the whiteness never 
goes out of the line of surf; and often the conditions are of shattered waters flying in the air, of roaring breakers crashing into fragments 

along the rocks, of great masses 
of billows lashed into fury, and 
resistless in their commonest 
attacks by all except the natural 
barriers to their progress here 
set up.” 

Beautiful, commanding, 
stirring as the scenes are about 
Cohasset’s bounding shores, yet 
the tragedies which have 
occurred in the treacherous 
approaches to the harbor are both 
numerous and lieart-appalling. 
On these very rocks, where the 
waters usually play in such happy 
abandon, more than seven score 
of persons from a single ship— 
the St.John , in October, 1849— 
were dashed to their deaths, and 
disasters attended by less mor¬ 
tality became so common that 
the Government erected a light¬ 
house at Minot’s Ledge, which 
is two miles off Cohasset Point, 
where the hidden rocks are most 
dangerous to shipping. 

From Cohasset the trip was 
south, by the Old Colony, along 
the Atlantic shore, passing 
many points of great interest, 

though for scenery there is nothing but marshes and a waste of sandy beach. But on the way, Daniel Webster’s farm is pointed out, located 
on a level strip between the railroad and Marshfield Neck, where it would appear that raising clams might be more profitably pursued than 
the growing of grain or vegetable. Quaint scenes, reminders of the olden times when stage-coaching was the most luxurious mode of travel, 
and pot-hooks and hangers were adjuncts of the crane that rendered the fire-place the sole convenience for cooking, pass in review and are 
a source of the greatest interest to those of a retrospective and reflective turn of mind. Here and there we observe old Puritan churches 








4io 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


and equally old-fashioned people, whose appear¬ 
ances indicate that they have not been widely 
distributed since the Mayflower landed. There 
is a Miles Standish, John Alden and Priscilla in 
every village, and the houses, in many cases, 
tell of a time quite as remote. Indeed, in the 
little but ancient hamlet of Greenbush, which is 
within a half-dozen miles of Cohasset, and 
twice as far to Nantasket, an intensely fashiona¬ 
ble resort, one may see the identical old oaken 
bucket and the crazy sweep by which ‘ ‘ dripping 
with coolness it rose from the well,” which in¬ 
spired Woodworth’s immortal lay in 1817. 
There, too, is the same old house, hiding behind 
a clump of trees, under which the poet sat and 
drank from the “full blushing goblet,” which, 
alas for human weakness, he really coveted less 
than a beaker of good wine. 

Twenty-five miles south of Cohasset is the 
historic town of Plymouth, and right in front of 
it is a harbor made by a long neck of land, 
parallel with the shore, and known as the Cow- 
Yard, in which the Mayflower came to anchor 
with her precious cargo of forefathers, on a bleak 
December day in 1620. Mr. Samuel Adams 
Drake has written: 

“Plymouth is the American Mecca. It 
does not contain the tomb of the prophet, but 
the rock of the forefathers, their traditions and 
their graves. The first impressions of a stranger 
are disappointing, for the oldest town in New 
England looks as fresh as if built within the 
century. There is not much that is suggestive 
of the old life to be seen there. Except the 
hills, the heaven, and the sea, there is nothing 
antique; save a few carefully cherished relics, 
nothing that has survived the day of the Pil¬ 
grims.” And another writer of recent times 
declares “it would be difficult to name any 
other place in America with such a profoundly 



PURGATORY CHASM, NEAR NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND. 









AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



interesting historical event as that which has made the name of Plymouth Rock forever famous in the annals of devotion and freedom. 
Upwards of fifty thousand persons come here every summer, making reverent pilgrimages to the cradle of American civilization. For 
these, and for all who love the antique and historic, Plymouth has well-nigh unrivaled attractions. Here is the renowned rock, down by 
the water-side, overarched by a stately granite canopy, in whose top are the bones of several of the Pilgrims. Up in the village rises the 
massive structure of Pilgrim Hall, consecrated to relics and memorials of the first colonists. Near this shrine is the court-house, with rare 
records and documents of the seventeenth century. On a noble hill rises the Pilgrim National Monument, a vast pile of carved granite 

crowned by a very impressive 


statue of Faith, forty feet high, 
and the largest stone figure in 
the world. 

“Burial Hill is one of the 
most interesting localities in 
New England. On every side 
are the tombs and monuments 
of the founders of the State and 
their descendants. Above these 
sacred graves the pleased eye 
wanders over an exquisite pano¬ 
rama of sea and shore, lonely 
islands, far-reaching promon¬ 
tories, and distant blue hills, out 
across the blue sea to where the 
sandy strand of Cape Cod bounds 
the view, low down on the hori¬ 
zon. On this bleak summit 
stood the fortified logf-church 
and watch-tower, the former 
bearing six tliree-pouud cannon 
on its flat roof, and the latter 
occupied by vigilant sentinels.” 

It is about forty miles from 
Plymouth to Newport, Rhode 
Island, one of the ultra-fashion- 
able summer seaside resorts, 
and thither our artist repaired 

to take views of that vicinity. Newport is not only famous for its fine bathing beach, elegant villas, and its harbor specially adapted for 
yacht-racing; there is much more to recommend the city to visitors than these means of recreation and pleasant vanities. Commer¬ 
cially, Newport is a metropolis of looms; historically, it is a city of great consequence; and scenically, a place of extraordinary interest. 
The Old Tower at Newport has been for centuries an object of curious enquiry and patient investigation. For many years the opinion 
obtained generally that it was a relic of the Norsemen’s discovery and occupation of the country, five hundred years before the time of 


NEGRO-HEAD CLIFFS, NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND. 












412 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



nr 

|*gj 


Columbus, and that in some way the building was connected with Druidic worship. The Druids of England and France performed their 
religious ceremonies under oak trees and always in the open air. but this fact did not affect the belief current for so long a time that the 
Stone Tower was the remains 
of either an edifice or a monu¬ 
ment erected by the Druids. 

When this opinion finally 
changed to the more reasonable 
though equally false one that 
the tower was the relic of a fort 
built by Norsemen sea-kings 
about the year 985, historians 
appeared to be satisfied and en¬ 
quiry ceased for a long while. 

Finally, investigation of the 
Runic inscriptions on the Digli- 
ton Rock, in Massachusetts, 
revived curiosity in the tower, 
and the result of the last inves¬ 
tigation is the opinion that it is 
the ruins of a wind-mill that 
was built some time in the seven¬ 
teenth century. The truth, 
however, may as well be told, 
that notwithstanding what his¬ 
torians say to the contrary, no 
one knows, or is likely ever to 
know, when, by whom, or for 
what purpose the so-called tower 
was built. It is a question about 
which there can be nothing but 
speculation. 

Newport is located on a 
peninsula on the east shore of 
Narragansett Bay, which is a 
splendid harbor, having an 
anchorage of thirty feet in low 
water. The scenery about the 
place, too, is very fine, and is 

brought into advantageous view by a charming drive-way that extends along the beach and entirely around the city. A part of the sea-shore 
line is very rocky and precipitous, and the assaults of terrific breakers for many ages have worn these cliffs into wonderful shapes. 


SOLDIERS’ MONUMENT ON EAST ROCK, NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT. 






AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


4 i 3 



Purgaton Chasm is, perhaps, the most remarkable example of wave force in this vicinity, though the agency of water has, no doubt, been 
reinforced b\ some other natural power, siieh as glacier, earthquake or volcano. Near-by are Hanging Rocks, where Berkeley is said to 
ha\e composed his Minute Philosophy; and less than three hundred yards distant is Spouting Cave, where the surf dashes into a grotto and 
thence through a hole in the roof to a height at times of fifty feet, affording a beautiful spectacle. Other points of interest along the cliffs 
are individualized by such names as Eastman’s, Green's End, Lime Rock, Negro-Head Cliffs, the Flints, the Dumplings, Cockle-Shell 
Ledge, etc. After a brief circuit of Newport’s attractions, our artist departed for Western Connecticut and thence to Albany, there to take 

boat down the Hudson for New 
York City. The route lay 
through New Haven, where a 
short stop was made to take a 
picture of East Rock and the 
Soldiers’ Monument thereon. 
East Rock is a bluff 3(30 feet 
high, on the north side of the 
city, to which a beautiful 
carriage-road leads, and from 
its summit a wide extent of 
charming landscape is pre¬ 
sented, taking in a part of the 
Connecticut Valley towards the 
west, Yale College on the east, 
and spanning Long Island 


Sound on the south, so that 
when the weather is clear the 
low banks of Long Island may 
be distinguished. 

From New Haven the route 
was north and west over the 
Housatonic system to Pittsfield, 
Massachusetts, in the Berkshire 
region, a city of some 17,000 
people, and noted for its many 

interesting buildings of national 
BALANCED ROCK, NEAR PITTSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS. reputation, as well as for the 

lovely scenerv that environs it. The place is elegantly situated on a high plateau, with the Taconic Mountains on the west and the 
Hoosac Range commanding the eastern view. It will be remembered by students of history that Fighting Parson Allen, of Revolutionary 
fame, was pastor of the First Methodist Church in Pittsfield, and they will be gratified to know that the building is still standing and that 
it exhibits little impairment from age. The Agassiz Association, with an enrolled membership of 20,000, has its headquarters in the city, 
and the place is also the seat of many prominent historical and educational institutions. But it is the scenery thereabout that interests us 
most. Waconah Falls is a pretty cascade ten miles from the city, and still nearer is Roaring Brook, that rushes down the side of a mountain 








414 AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 

* 

in torrential flow, through a gap known as Tories’ Cave, and contributes its waters to Ashley Pond, whence the city’s supply is obtained. 

Rake Onota is a picturesque sheet two miles west of Pittsfield, and near-by is Balanced Rock, one of the greatest natural curiosities in 

America. It is a tremendous bowlder, as the illustration shows, the estimated weight of which is 480 tons, and is balanced on a point that 
is only one foot square. So unstable is its appearance, resting on such a slender foundation, that it looks as if a zephyr might topple it 
over, yet so firmly poised that an army of giants could hardly disturb its equilibrium. 

In a rocky field three miles from the city is another great natural curiosity known as Cross Rock, which has been singularly 

cleft, by some unknown agency, _ 

into the form of a perfect cross, ' . 

to which a few superstitious peo¬ 
ple formerly attributed remark¬ 
able healing virtues, but which 
no one any longer regards. 

Four miles east of Pittsfield 
is the village of Dalton, where 
immense quantities of paper are 
manufactured, and on the Pitts¬ 
field line is located the mill that 
produces all the Government 
bank-note paper. West Pitts¬ 
field, about five miles from the 
city proper, is also an interest¬ 
ing place, reposing under the 
shadows of Taconic Mountains, 
and celebrated as being the 
national headquarters of what is 
known as the “United Society 
of Believers in Christ’s Second 
Appearing.” This curious sect 
of Shakers, disciples of Ann Lee, 
founded the village more than a 
century ago, and their “ Millen¬ 
nial” church, which was built 
soon after, still stands as one of 

’ , .... CROSS ROCK, NEAR PITTSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, 

the most conspicuous buildings 

in New England. Massachusetts has been famous as the home of religious denominations possessing peculiar tenets almost since the land¬ 
ing of the Pilgrims; but from the day’s of Salem witchcraft to the present, few sects have adopted more curious beliefs and ceremonials than 
the Shakers. Yet, to their credit let it be spoken, they are good citizens, honest, generous-, faithful, industrious and kindly in all their 
intercourse with the world as well as among themselves. 

From Pittsfield our artist proceeded to New Albany, and thence by boat to New York, where he joined the two other photographers > 
the route of the third having been east by way of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, which now remains to be described. 















CHAPTER XII. 


ON HISTORIC FIELDS OF VIRGINIA AND PENNSYLVANIA. 


r HE instructions given upon the separation of our three photographers, after leaving St. Louis, were necessarily indefinite, and 
discrimination in the selection of routes and views had to be left to individual judgment, since weather and conditions play an 
important part in the artists’ profession. Our third photographer departed somewhat from the route which he had selected to 
cover, for after the separation, instead of proceeding directly east through Pennsylvania, as was his first intention, he went south 
to Cincinnati and east by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, through the lovely Blue Grass region of Kentucky, making his first 
stop at Charleston, the capital of West Virginia. The capital is a small place of something less than 7,000 inhabitants, and with 
nothing of particular importance to visitors except the mountain scenery which invests it. The Kanawha River, upon which the town is 

situated, is navigable for small 
crafts from this point to its 
junction with the Ohio, but 
above Charleston the stream is 
treacherous and its channel so 
rock-infested that a skiff can 
hardly follow the stream without 
danger. Thirty miles from the 
capital are the Kanawha Falls, 
or cataracts, where the river 
goes tearing over several 
benches of thinly stratified 
rocks, and has scooped out a 
pool of very great depth, where 
fishing is said to be excellent. 
On the north side of the river 
at this point are the Gauley 
Mountains, rising to a consid¬ 
erable altitude, but so gently 
that the slopes have been re¬ 
claimed from thick timber 
growths and converted into 
beautiful farms. 

The scenery all through 
the valley of the Kanawha is 
tumultuously grand, but nine 

miles beyond the falls it attains its greatest glory. Here the tremendous cliffs rise vertically to a height of 1,200 feet, and at a point 
called “The Hawk’s Nest” a breast of the bluffs extends out over the river in a perilous shelf 1,000 feet high, from which lofty elevation 

4 T 5 


A MIXED TRAIN FROM THE WILDERNESS. 











AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


416 

the river becomes a ribbon of white, and a 
train of cars running along the mountain 
skirts on the opposite side looks like a 
string of army-ants hurrying to an attack. 
The view down the valley is one of ineffa¬ 
ble magnificence, presenting as it does a 
double file of noble mountains dressed in 
uniforms of lovely green, which, as they 
recede, assume a sky-blue hue, and then 
gradually fade away in the opalescent mist 
of distance. 

Thirty miles above Kanawha Falls, at 
a town called Hinton, the New and Green- 
Brier Rivers unite to form the Kanawha, 
and here the scenery is likewise charm¬ 
ingly picturesque. The line of lofty bluffs 
continues along the south shore of New 
River, under which the Chesapeake and 
Ohio Railroad runs upon a bare passage¬ 
way, while the north line is marked by 
graceful mountains that in the distance 
look like lines of beauty tracing the hori¬ 
zon. In some places the ledges are 1,200 
feet high, and the river so contracted that 
the canon is almost dark at midday. The 
view is further diversified by successive 
rapids and cataracts, while at frequent in¬ 
tervals the bluffs recede, leaving stretches 
of fertile valley that are in a high state of 
cultivation, with pretty farm houses dotting 
the landscape and imparting an appearance 
of prosperous animation to these pleasing 
interludes. The road follows the valley of 
Green-Brier River twenty miles further, to 
Caldwell, then passes through White Sul¬ 
phur Springs, and a few minutes later 
crosses the James River at Clifton Forge, 
where that romantic stream, drawing its 
inspiration from the Alleghenies, cuts its 
way through the Blue Ridge Mountains. 



m 

frl 


1 1.4 1 






FALLING SPRING, NEAR WARM SPRINGS, VIRGINIA. 





KANAWHA FALLS, WEST VIRGINIA. 


27 












418 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


Clifton Forge is forty miles east of White Sulphur Springs, and from this junction a branch of the Chesapeake and Ohio Road runs 
northeast to form a connection with the Shenandoah Valley Railroad at Waynesborougli. All the region hereabout is very rugged, and 
intersected by beautiful streams whose sources are springs that break out of the sides of mountains, and the waters are generally more or 
less impregnated with sulphur. Eighteen miles due north of Clifton Forge, and reached by a delightful road that winds through charming 
vales, is the village of Warm Springs, the capital of Bath county, and adjacent are the Warm Sulphur Springs, which attract so many 
visitors in search of health and fine scenery. It is a mountain town, whose population fluctuates with the season, for while the place is 
one of some animation from April to October, during the other months there are not enough people in the village to keep the mud-daubers 



out of the houses. A more 
picturesque district, however, 
can scarcely be found; too 
mountainous to permit agri¬ 
culture, nature has given other 
blessings than fertility to the 
region. The climate is ex¬ 
tremely invigorating, and the 
numerous springs possess me¬ 
dicinal properties of undoubted 
value, while the scenery is in¬ 
spiring to even the most 
phlegmatic. One of the chief 
objects which serves to further 
diversify the landscape of high- 
lifted peaks, jutting cliffs, 
meandering brooks, green cov¬ 
erts, sylvan solitudes and clois¬ 
tral caverns, is Falling Spring, 
a sheet of rainbow-flecked water 
that dashes over a ledge seventy 
feet high, and which, seen from 
a little distance, may be likened 
in appearance to the white 
trailing trosseau of a bride, so 
delicate, graceful, and gossamer¬ 
like is its form, so joyous is its 

laughter. After leaving Clifton Forge the road winds along the sinuous valley of James River, with charming views on both sides, until 
interest, charm and excitement are superseded by wonder as Natural Bridge, that marvelous curiosity of ages, is reached, and preparation is 
immediately made to examine and to photograph its astounding formation and immensity. This great natural wonder, which is an old 
acquaintance to all school-children, is two miles from the railway station, at the termination of a very deep gorge, through which flows a 
capricious little stream called Cedar Creek. At one time this feeble brook may have been a raging river, and needed bridging, but like an 
old man, it has lost the vigor of former days and fallen into the seventh age of decrepitude. But the bridge which Titans might have 


WAITING FOR TIME TO CATCH UP. 














HAWK’S NEST AND CANON OF THE KANAWHA RIVER, WEST VIRGINIA 















/\ 20 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



constructed still spans the creek’s deep hed and has grown in mightiness as the waters below subsided. To speak with mathematical 
exactness, without employing statistical details, it may be said that the Natural Bridge spans with graceful and architectural proportions 
the perpendicular ledges of Cedar Creek, which rise 200 feet above the stream. The center of its wondrous arch is forty feet in perpen¬ 
dicular thickness and sixty feet wide, while the span is exactly eighty-nine feet. A public highway utilizes the bridge, and it is the only 
means of passage for wagons within a mile either way, except by a steep bank, very difficult to ascend, a short distance below the gorge. 
Just above the bridge the creek bluffs are broken into masses that look like immense buttresses, pinnacled at places and reaching to a height 
of 250 feet. The most impos¬ 
ing view is obtained from a 
position fifty yards below the 
bridge, where the arch appears 
both lighter and higher, and 
the walls more dangerously 
precipitous. From this point 
of view this world-famous nat¬ 
ural structure appears as perfect 
as if cut by design; a colossal 
arch that shines in the sun like 
variegated marble, without 
stratification or displacement, 
so high that the largest sailing 
vessel might pass under with¬ 
out touching the peak of her 
mainmast. On the abutments 
of the bridge are carved the 
names of many adventurous 
youths who sought fame by 
leaving a record of their reck¬ 
less efforts to scale the dizzy 
heights of stone. George Wash¬ 
ington was not above this am- 
bition to win reputation by 
carving his name higher up 
than any of his fellow-youths, 
and for nearly seventy years he 

held the honor of being the most intrepid and expert wall-climber, for, like Ben Adam, his name led all the rest. But in 1818 this distinction 
was surrendered to James Piper, of Washington College, who performed the daring, and what was long thought to be impossible, feat of 
climbing from the foot of the abutment to the top of the arch, an exploit so dangerous that no one has since made a mad attempt to repeat 
it. Thomas Jefferson was moved to write an eulogium of this incomparable natural wonder in this wise: 

“The Natural Bridge, the most sublime of nature’s works, though not comprehended under the present head, must not be preter- 
mitted. Though the sides of this bridge are provided in parts with a parapet of fixed rocks, yet few men have resolution to walk to them 


GALBRAITH SPRINGS, TENNESSEE. 





mfiCB 



NATURAL BRIDGE OF VIRGINIA, 





















FALLS OF NEW RIVER, NEAR HINTON, WEST VIRGINIA. 








422 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



and look over into the abyss. If the view from the top be painful and intolerable, that from below is delightful in an equal extreme. It is 
impossible for the emotions arising from the sublime to be felt beyond what they are here; so beautiful an arch, so elevated, so light and 
springing, as it were, up to Heaven! The rapture of the spectator is really indescribable.” 

From Natural Bridge our photographer took train on the Norfolk and Western Railroad, and proceeded southwestwardly to the 
junction of that road with the Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad, by which he passed into Tennessee as far as Knoxville, and from 
that point made excursions into the famous East Tennessee region, where scenes and scenery are quite unlike anything which he had ever 
before transferred to photographs. Nowhere in all the world are there richer lands, prettier women, braver men, finer landscapes, and bigger 
prospects than Tennessee affords. It is a region of boundless resources and charming views, and possessing as it does so many advantages, 
it likewise presents remarkable 
contrasts and conditions. Where 
can the scenery aboiit Cumber¬ 
land Gap be equaled, or the 
panorama from the summit of 
Lookout Mountain be matched? 

But there is relaxation in the 
quiet views of rural life in East 
Tennessee which are here re¬ 
produced, aud the pastime 
reader as well as the student of 
geography, will appreciate the 
restful change. 

Tennessee is the neutral 
ground between North and 
South, because it does not dis¬ 
tinctively belong to either, but 
its contiguity to both gives to the 
State some of the characteristics 
of each. Adopting slavery, it 
is Southern, but developing a 
strong pro-Union sentiment in 
the beginning of the civil war, 

Tennessee became Northern 
in her affinities; but the slave- 

marks of one hundred years have not been effaced even after thirty years of freedom, for in the country and villages there are old slave- 
cabins, rickety, but still habitable, the homes of white-haired relics of ante-war times, and the new generation that has not been taught to 
tie up their hair with cotton strings. All over the South it is the same; but in East Tennessee there is something else to bring back 
old memories, for here the brazen front of war marched through the land, and turned its fair acres of waving grain and fruitful orchards 
into battle-fields, furrowed with dead and harrowed with destruction. And yet Tennessee was pro-Union, with secession tendencies, because 
her interests were indissolubly linked with the South. But the wounds have all healed; the impetuous youth who went forth to battle is 
now a peace-loving grandfather; his daughter was captured by a Yankee, and she has never regretted it, and the railroad runs every day 


PASSAGE OF THE FRENCH BROAD RIVER THROUGH THE SMOKY MOUNTAINS. 










PASSAGE OF THE JAMES RIVER THROUGH THE BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS 

















424 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



between the two sections with mail-bags full of peace-messages. Why, the war has been over so long that we get mixed in our history, 
and sometimes we are not quite clear whether it was in 1776 or 1861. In fact, many of the old farm houses along the way look decidedly 
Revolutionary, and none of the mountains have changed or added another wrinkle to their imperturbable faces. 

In some of the towns there is a lazy air that barely stirs the little wind-mills on the marten-boxes, and indolence and shiftlessness 
have their votaries even here. Up in the mountains there are shadows of hard times, which are projected into the valleys and villages in 
the form of bull-teams and crotchety “mover-wagons.” The driver has a sang-froid appearance, and as if he was ahead of his expecta¬ 
tions, and is willing to wait for tardy time to catch up. His team is glad to encourage the waiting ambition, and lies down in the street to 
keep him patient company. 

To exhibit the diversity of 
scenes in East Tennessee and 
the resourceful expedients of the 
people, photograph was made of 
another mountaineer’s team, 
wherein the traction energy of 
a bull is compared with that of 
a horse, to the humiliation, no 
doubt, of the latter. In order to 
throw a little more animation 
into the scene, our photographer 
grouped a party of natives about 
the team, so that two purposes 
might be served with one stone, 
and no mistake might be made 
as to types of the people and 
their conveyances. 

On a trip to the north 
boundary of the State several 
lovely landscape pictures were 
secured, one of the most exquis¬ 
ite being a view in the vicinity 
of Galbraith Springs, where 
the headwaters of Tennessee 
River pour through Short 

Mountains, which are the outposts of Cumberland Range, and go careening and pirouetting in many cascades between that point and Knox¬ 
ville. The scenery hereabout presents the majesty of imperious isolation, the lonely grandeur of undisputed lordliness; and under the 
shadows which these towering mountains cast, are people that live in a little world of their own, almost forgetful that the earth projects 
beyond the horizon of their vision. But in this valley of delight the flowers run riot over the hills, the woods and fields are musical with 
songs of many birds, and there are the sweets of peace and the bloom of plenty beneath these opalescent skies. 

From the pleasant vales about Galbraith the route was south to Morristown, and thence southeast along the valley of the French 
Broad River, through Unaka Pass of the Great Smoky Mountains, to North Carolina. Many writers have exhausted the dictionary of 


A SCENE OF RURAL LIFE IN NORTH CAROLINA. 










PICTURED BLUFFS ON NEW RIVER, WEST VIRGINIA 

















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


426 

adjectives in describing the romantic beauties of the French Broad, but the stream and its intervales, bedighted with marvelous cliffs, 
continues as nature made it, beyond the power of description. The course of this lovely stream exits through the charming hills about 
Asheville and pours its crystal waters through a narrow gorge until it passes the blockade of the Smoky Mountains. In this space of forty 
miles the French Broad is indeed a “racing river,” to which the Cherokees applied the name Tahkeeostee , which has that significance, for 
it is impetuous, torrential, terrific. From a gentle stream above Asheville, by the contraction of its banks below, the river becomes angry, 
and the roar of cataract as it rushes over opposing bowlders fills the air with noise like thunder. At Stack House the current dashes over 
a fall twenty feet high, and at Mountain Island it makes another leap and then becomes a noisy rapid to a point kown as “ Deep Water.” 
Here the mountains close in upon the river, forcing it through a narrow channel only one hundred and fifty feet wide and forty feet deep. 
The railroad to reach the opposite bank, crosses the river diago¬ 
nally by an iron bridge, with a clear span of two hundred and 
sixty feet, squeezing itself, as it were, around the rocky face of 
the mountain on the right bank, to be received with the same 
grudging hospitality by the hard face of the left bank, and twists 
itself by a very short curve into line, which in a very few min¬ 
utes brings it into the beautiful, smiling valley of Hot Springs. 

No one has ever been able to convey a just idea of the 
remarkable magnificence of this wonderful canon, with its wild 
and ceaseless splendor of tumultuous waters, its overhanging 
cliffs, its noble mountains and fairy islets. In the time of stage- 
coacliing it was an experience never to be forgotten—the day’s 
journey from Asheville to the Warm Springs, along the turnpike 
which followed the old Indian trail and lay between the river and 
the cliffs, hemmed in by the whirling emerald waters of the first 
and overhung by the fern-draped escarpments of the last, with 
vistas of wild and yet wilder beauty opening at every step. 

Paint Rock is six miles below Hot Springs, and directly on 
the line between North Carolina and Tennessee. The rock itself 
is massive in size and would attract attention, if not admiration, 
aside from the legends which make it famous. The name Paint 
Rock is given to perpetuate a tradition that the Cherokee Indians 
colored portions of it with an indelible paint, and in the form of 
hieroglyphics which no one has been able to decipher, though 
the legaud represents that it is the tribe’s prayer to the Great 
Spirit; and being approved, ages will not suffice to efface it. Twenty miles'east of Asheville is Round Knob, on the line of the Western 
North Carolina Railroad and nestled in the very heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where the scenery surpasses in wildness and sublimity 
that of any other section of the State. It is a basin so completely shut in by lofty peaks, that if a person were dropped into it without 
knowing the point of entrance, he would find difficulty in escaping. A brawling mountain stream rushes by, in whose crystal waters bask 
the speckled trout to tempt the angler, while near the hotel is to be seen one of the most beautiful spectacles in the world—a magnificent 
fountain that throws its spray two hundred and eighty-six feet high, then like a bridal veil floats off in misty fragments. It is beautiful 
by day, but far more beautiful in the moonlight, as it throws its sparkling vapor high in the air, giving to the scene a weird enchantment. 



THE OLD MAN’S FACE, NEAR ASHEVILLE. 





















428 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



Overhead, apparently weaving in and out like a silver thread, 
winds the glistening track over which the tourist must pass to gain the 
summit of the Blue Ridge. So great and difficult is the ascent that at 
one point four parallel tracks may be seen, one above the other, while 
at another point, as the train passes over a winding trestle sixty feet 
high, the tourist might easily drop his hat on the track below over 
which he had passed a few minutes before, but now going in an entirely 
opposite direction, having gained nothing on his journey save about 
ninety feet in elevation. So often does the track turn, twist and double 
upon itself to gain the summit, that at one place of observation it 
may be seen at seventeen distinct points. After having gained a dis¬ 
tance of over five miles of the ascent, the train is again within one-fourth 
of a mile of the Knob, now lying far below, but still the center of this 
grand system of iron loops, by means of which the train is gradually 
rising to the region of the clouds. From this point to the summit, in 
the short space of one and a half miles, the train passes through six 
tunnels and across numerous gorges, whose sides are clothed with the 
primeval forest where perhaps the foot of man never trod. The most 
noted of which is “Royal Gorge,” seen from the car window, whose 
precipitous sides and deep-yawning chasm form a scene of magnificent 
grandeur, from the top of whose butting cliffs the mountains of South 
Carolina are visible, two hundred miles distant. As the train rushes 
forward, suddenly it plunges into Swannanoa Tunnel, which is nearly 
two thousand feet long, and upon emerging at the western end, along 
the massive walls, we reach the highest point in that Land of the 
Sky, where the waters of a spring divide, a part flowing into the Atlantic 
Ocean and an equal share being contributed to the Gulf of Mexico. 

Having crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains and passed through 
Hickory-Nut Gap to the valley, the road leads into one of the grandest 
canons of the Broad River. Here for a distance of nine miles on either 
side of the river giant mountains rise to a dizzy height, forming massive 
walls of blue granite, often reaching a height of more than a thousand 
feet, while not a sprig of vegetation appears on their surface. 

A creek large enough to turn a mill plunges over one of these 
embattlements and falls in a single stream a distance of over thirteen 
hundred feet, known as Hickory-Nut Falls, said to be the third highest 
falls in the United States. Passing on down this great gorge, we see 
Chimney Rock on the right, a circular column four hundred feet high, 
while on the opposite side is Round Top, with its pyramidal dome rest¬ 
ing against the sky. 


CAESAR’S HEAD, SPUR OF THE BLUE RIDGE RANGE, N. C. 












E 



CHIMNEY ROCK, ON THE FRENCH BROAD RIVER. 







430 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


“High mountains bound this vale on north and south, while directly in front of us, like companion sentinels guarding the western 
gateway, down which the sun was to march, stands Round Top and Chimney Rock Mountains. Behind Chimney Rock, trending toward 
the west, arise in close succession a number of mountains with distinct, broken summits—a long palisade fencing the gap in whose depth 
rushes the Broad River. In the center of the west stands Bear Wallow Mountain, the last visible knob of Hickory-Nut Gap. 

“The sun was sinking behind the white cumuli that capped this mountain. Streamers of golden light, like the spokes of a celestial 
chariot, whose hub was the hidden sun, barred the western sky. The clouds shone with edges of beaten gold. Their centers, with every 
minute, changed to all hues imaginable. The fronts of the Sentinel Mountains were somber in the shadows,while the gap was radiant with 
the light pouring through it, and every pine on the top of the palisade stood black against the glowing sky.” The “Old Man’s Face” is 
another wonderful natural curi¬ 
osity which divides interest with 
the finest scenery in this re¬ 
markable region, and is on the 
west side of Bald Mountain, in 
prominent view, for the rocks 
are barren and garish from the 
light of the sun. This singular 
formation is a faithful represen¬ 
tation of a three-quarter view of 
an old man’s face, with fore¬ 
head, eyes, nose, mouth and 
beard in such perfect proportion 
that one can hardly believe, 
without close examination, the 
face is only an accidental result 
of the elements, in their unceas¬ 
ing work of denudation. 

Eighteen miles from Ashe¬ 
ville, in the Balsam Range, is 
Mount Pisgah, 5,757 feet high, 
from the apex of which a won¬ 
derful expanse of mountain 
scenery is spread out to view; 
but it is from the Blue Ridge 

peaks that the sublimest visions are presented, and the most curious forms of nature-sculpturing occur. Passing southwest from Asheville, 
the Asheville and Spartanburg R.oad runs through an exceedingly fertile region, and thence into the Canon of Tittle River, where for four 
miles the stream is a succession of surging rapids, noisy cascades, and picturesque waterfalls, until it approaches the base of tremendous 
cliffs. These are spurs of the Blue Ridge, one of which is famous as presenting a facial profile which has been named “Caesar’s Head,” 
but it takes a person of vivid imagination to distinguish the human features, very plain though the guide declares them to be. As the 
altitude is nearly 6,000 feet, and 2,000 feet above the valley, the prospect of the peak of this Blue Ridge spur is incomparably magnificent. 

From this dizzy height the peaks of the Blue Ridge may be observed for scores of miles in each direction; looking northeast you 



ABOVE THE CLOUDS ON MITCHELL’S PEAK, NEAR ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA. 






LITTLE RIVER RAPIDS, NORTH CAROLINA, 













432 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



sea 


the waves of these blue mount¬ 


ains, with their 


corrugations 


may see the famous King’s Mountain, seventy miles away,while in the opposite direction, in distinct view, is Stone Mountain, near Atlanta, 
Georgia, over one hundred miles away. Looking to the north, a distance of a little more than one hundred miles, is the Roan Mountain, 
while to the northeast is seen the black dome of Mount Mitchell, full sixty-five miles distant. In the northwest, about thirty-five miles 
away, is Pisgali, resembling a great Egyptian pyramid in outline, while directly to the west are the Highlands of Macon county,with White- 
side Mountain glittering like an 
iceberg in the sunlight. From 
the top of this wonderful preci¬ 
pice the view is strangely sug¬ 
gestive of a great stretch of 
ocean. The blue waves of the 
find their counterpart in 


extending far out until the out¬ 
line is lost in the hazy distance. 

There is no grander sight than 
a view from this point at sun¬ 
rise, when the world below is 
buried from sight in an ocean 
of impenetrable fog, and the 
great billows of fleecy mist roll¬ 
ing like angry waves, while the 
breaker-like roar of cataracts a 
thousand feet below, makes the 
deception complete. 

The loftiest peak of the 
Appalachian system is Mount 
Mitchell, which is thirty miles 
from Asheville, and is easiest 
reached by way of the Swanan- 
uoa River. The ascent is by a 
comparatively easy roadway, 
but as the altitude of the sum¬ 
mit is 6,717 feet, it is not gained 
without great exertion. For¬ 
merly the mountain was called 

Black Dome, then Clingman’s Mount, but was afterwards christened Mitchell’s Peak, in honor of Professor Elisha Mitchell, of the State 
University of North Carolina, who was first to measure its exact altitude, and who lost his life by falling over a precipice in making a second 
ascent to verify his first measurement. The body was found ten days after the fatal accident and conveyed to Asheville, where it was 
buried. One year subsequently the remains were disinterred and carried to the summit of Mitchell Mountain, and there committed to the 


THE SUMMIT OF MOUNT MITCHELL, NORTH CAROLINA. 































434 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


grave, over which a beautiful monument now stands, the tribute of a 
daughter's loving memory. 

The ascent of the mountain lies through superb forests of 
deciduous trees and along the banks of the rushing Swannanoa, until 
after a climb of five miles the second base of the mountain is reached— 
a small grassy plateau, where a residence once stood—now know as 
the “Half-way House.” From this point the world below unrolls 
before the gaze like an azure scroll, while above, awful in its nearness 
and immensity, towers the dark mass of Black Mountain, clothed with 
a somber forest, into the depths of which the path now plunges, and 
which it does not leave again until the final summit is reached. Wind 
ing in snake-like turns through the close-growing firs, the trail climbs 
the steep shoulders of the great mountain, passing over what is now 
known as Clingman Dome (of the Blacks) and then following its 
ridges for about three miles, until the bare rocky peak, which is the 
highest point of land east of the Rocky Mountains, is reached, and all 
hardships of ascent are forgotten in the view that bursts upon the 
enraptured vision. 

If the day is clear, the prospect is almost boundless in extent and 
of infinite beauty. Range behind range of great mountains lie below, 
like a Titanic ocean stilled by some mighty hand. From this supreme 
elevation it is possible to study the structural character of the region, 
and to count all the great chains that cross the country, while no words 
can express the varying and exquisite color that, like a glamour of heav¬ 
enly enchantment, lies over the wide expanse. The whole earth, “ and 
the beauty thereof,” seems to be spread out at one’s feet, and the airs 
that come to this high mountain crest are full of freshness and balm. 

A Southern poet, who climbed the mountain in the spring of 
1891, thus describes the inspiring sight which greeted him when the 
day was dying: “ To witness a sunset from this peak is something 
long to be remembered. Never shall I forget that evening in June, 
when in company with my guide, we stood by the grave on the sum¬ 
mit of Mount Mitchell, and looked down on that scene of resplendent 
glory that lay before us; far in the west the sun was slowly sinking 
in a bed of crimson and gold, the horizon was lighted with a flushing 
radiance which was infinitely sublime, while the whole landscape was 
aglow with splendor, every tint and hue imaginable seemed to inter¬ 
mingle in that sea of color, and every jutting crag, and donje, and 
pinnacle of sullen rock flamed as though a thousand rainbows had 
fallen out of the sky and hung themselves there like glorious banners; 



BRIDAL VEIL FALLS, DINGMAN’S FERRY, PENNSYLVANIA 






TITANIA’S VEIL, LURAY CAVERNS, VIRGINIA 



























AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


43 6 


we stand enthralled at the scene before ns, no sound is heard, no note of bird breaks the awful stillness. We are in the region of that 
eternal silence which wraps the summit of the ‘everlasting hills.’ A hush of dreamy repose broods over this lofty peak, which still retains 
the last rays of the setting sun, while over the world below twilight has fallen. 


‘ How fair this lone and lovely scene, 
And yonder dropping fiery ball, 
And eve’s sweet spirit, which steals 
unseen 

With darkness over all! ’ ” 



But it is not only from its 
unsurpassed view that this great 
mountain is interesting. Its 
vast sides are clothed with a 
forest of bewildering beauty, 
crystal streams gush from its 
heights, and there is, altogether, 
a fascination about this wild, 
unpeopled region that goes far to 
account for the passion which 
caused Professor Mitchell to lose 
his life in wandering through 
its wilderness. 

Having accomplished a cir¬ 
cuit of the wonderlands of 
Western North Carolina, our 
artist departed from Asheville 
by way of the Richmond and 
Danville Railroad, and thence 
by its northern connections to 

Roanoke, Virginia, at which 
point train was taken on the COLOSSEUM FALLS, NEAR DINGMAN’S FERRY, PENNSYLVANIA. 

Shenandoah Valley Route for Luray, a town of 1,500 people, but famous by reason of its proximity to the marvelous caverns of that name, 
the beauty of which is incomparable, and in wonder they rival the great Mammoth Cave. This marvelous subterranean labyrinth is one 
mile distant from the town, and is entered by an easy passage-way that has a gradual descent by stone steps. The cave was an accidental 
discovery by Mr. Andrew J. Campbell, in 1878, who, while examining the locality known as Cave Hill, was led, by the hollow sound 
produced by stamping the earth, to seek for the cavity which he knew must exist at that point. With spade and mattock he sank a hole 
four feet deep and was rewarded by finding the great cavern which ought rightfully to bear his name. 

To Rev. Horace C. Hovey, of New Haven, we are indebted for the best, as it is the most interesting, description that has ever been 
written of this underground wonderland, prepared as it was after a careful examination of the geology of the cave as well as of its splendors: 

“At some period, long subsequent to its original excavation, and after many large stalactites had grown, the cavern was completely 
filled with glacial mud, whereby the drip-stone was eroded into singularly grotesque shapes. After the mud had been mostly removed by 







THE BALL-ROOM, LURAY CAVERNS. 








































43§ 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



flowing water, these eroded forms remained amid the new growths. To this contrast may be ascribed some of the most striking scenes 
of the cave. The many, and extraordinary monuments of aqueous energy include massive columns wrenched from their place in the ceil¬ 
ing and prostrate on the floor; the hollow column forty feet high and thirty feet in diameter, standing erect, but pierced by a tubular 
passage from top to bottom; the leaning column, nearly as large, undermined and tilting like the Campanila of Pisa; the organ, a chister of 
stalactites, dropped point downward, and standing thus in the room known as the Cathedral; besides a vast bed of disintegrated carbonates 
left by the whirling flood in its retreat through the great space called the Elfin Ramble. 

“The stalactite display exceeds that of any other cavern known, and there is hardly a square yard on the walls or ceiling that is not 
thus ornamented. The old 
material is yellow, brown or red, 
and its wavy surface often shows 
layers like the gnarled grain of 
costly woods. The new stalac¬ 
tites growing from the old, and 
made of hard carbonates that 
had already once been used, are 
usually white as snow, though 
often pink, blue or amber- 
colored. The size attained by 
single specimens is surprising. 

The Empress Column is a stalag¬ 
mite thirty-five feet high, rose- 
colored and elaborately draped. 

The Double Column is made of 
two fluted pillars side by side, 
the one twenty-five, the other 
sixty feet high, a mass of snowy 
alabaster. Several stalactites 
in the Giant’s Hall exceed fifty 
feet in length. The small 
pendants are innumerable; in 
the canopy above the Imperial 
Spring it is estimated that forty 

thousand are visible at once. 

1 ( m. ~ j , FACTORY FALLS, DINGMAN’S FERRY, PENNSYLVANIA. 

“ 1 he Cascades are wonder¬ 
ful formations, like foaming cataracts cauglit n mid-air, and transformed in to milk-white or amber alabaster, while the Chalcedony Cascade 
displays a variety of colors. Brand’s Cascade, which is the finest of all, being forty feet high, and almost as wide, is unsullied and wax¬ 
like white, each ripple and braided rill appearing to have been polished. 

“ The Swords of the Titans are monstrous blades, eight in number, fifty feet long, three to eight feet wide, and one to two feet 
thick, but are hollow and drawn down to an extremely fine edge, filling the cavern with tones like tolling bells, when struck by the 
hand. Their origin, and also that of certain so-called scarfs and blankets exhibited, is from carbonates deposited by water trickling down 














THE SARACEN’S TENT, LURAY CAVERNS, VIRGINIA 























































440 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



a sloping and corrugated surface. Sixteen of these alabaster scarfs hang side by side in Hovey’s Balcony, three white and fine as crape 
shawls, thirteen striated like agate, with every shade of brown, and all perfectly transparent. Down the edge of each a tiny rill glistens 
like silver, and this is the ever-plying shuttle that weaves this fairy fabric. 

“Streams and true springs are absent, but there are hundreds of basins, varying from one to fifty feet in diameter, and from six 
inches to fifteen feet in depth. The water in them is exquisitely pure, except as it is impregnated by the carbonate of lime, which often 
forms concretions called, according to their size, pearls, eggs, and snow-balls. A large one is known as the Cannon-Ball. When fractured, 
these spherical growths are found to be radiated in structure. Calcite crystals, drusy, feathery, or fern-like, line the sides and bottoms of every 
water-filled cavity, and, indeed, 
constitute the substance of which 
they are formed. Variations 
of level at different periods are 
marked by rings, ridges, and 
ruffled margins. These are 
especially strongly marked 
about Broaddus Lake, and the 
curved ramparts of the Castles 
on the Rhine. Here, also, are 
polished stalagmites, a rich buff 
slashed with white, and others, 
like huge mushrooms, with a 
velvety coat of red, purple, or 
olive-tinted crystals. In some 
of the smaller basins it some¬ 
times happens that when the 
excess of carbonic acid escapes 
rapidly there is formed, besides 
the crystal beds below, a film 
above, shot like a sheet of ice 
across the surface. One pool 
twelve feet wide is thus covered 
so as to show but a third of its 
surface. The quantity of water 
varies greatly at different sea- 
some stalactites 


sons; hence 


CADEDENEAN FALLS, DINGMAN’S FERRY. 


have their tips under water long enough to allow tassels of crystal to grow on them, which in a drier season are again coated over with 
stalactitic matter, by which singular distortions are occasioned. Contiguous stalactites are often enwrapped thus till they assume an almost 
globular form, through which, by making a section, the primary tubes appear. Twig-like projections, lateral outgrowths, to which the 
term helictite has been applied, are met with in certain portions of the cave, and are interesting by reason of their strange and uncouth 
contortions. Their presence is partly due to the existence of a diminutive fungus peculiar to the locality, and designated from its habitat, 
Mucor Stalactitis. The Toy Shop is an amusing collection of these freaks of nature. 






FARM SCENE IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHENANDOAH, VIRGINIA, 

















442 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


“The dimensions of the various chambers included in Euray Caverns cannot be given, on account of the great irregularity of their 
outlines. Nor can their size be estimated from a diagram, because there are several tiers of galleries, and the vertical depth, from the 
highest to the lowest, is two hundred and sixty feet. The tract of one hundred acres, owned by the Euray Cave Company, covers all possi¬ 
ble modes of entrance, and the explored area is much less than that. The waters of this cavern appear to be entirely destitute of life; and 
the existing fauna is quite meager, comprising a few bats, rats, mice, spiders, flies and small centipedes. When the cave was first entered 
the floor was covered with thousands of tracks of bears, wolves and raccoons, most of them probably made long ago, as impressions in the 
tenacious clay that composes most of the cavern-floor would remain for centuries. The traces of human occupation, as yet discovered, are 
pieces of charcoal, flints, moccasin tracks, and a single skeleton imbedded in a stalagmite in one of the chasms, estimated to have lain where 
found for not more than five hundred years, judging from the present rate of stalagmitic growth.” 

Accurate and beautiful as is Mr. Hovey’s description of Euray Caverns, yet words, however ingeniously used, fail utterly to convey 
a true idea of the incomparable splendors of this under-world palace which gleams with unspeakable glories, such as God alone can create. 
Aladdin, in the Arabic tale which so delighted our youthful fancy, was permitted to enter a cave which exhibited such decorations that its 
very beauty both dazzled and affrighted; and to his amazement was added the greater wonder, that the cavern thus wrought of precious 
stones was the work of a geni, who was slave to a lamp and ring. But the fervid imagination of youth, or the dreamer under 
influence of the delirium-inducing hasheesh intoxicant in India’s climes, never riveted gaze upon vision more wondrously beautiful than 
Euray’s intervals of divine architecture; nor was Aladdin’s Cave half so charming. The Throne-Room, canopied with curtains woven of 
pearls and diamonds; “ The Saracen’s Tent, ” in which more than oriental splendors of richest damasks and golden samite sweep round 
the crystal couch in festoons of magic beauty; Titania’s Veil of petrified spider’s webs and crystallized harmonies, behind which the queen 
of fairies hides from yEolus; and the Ball-Room, with best adornments, as if to celebrate a marriage between the gods; all these and 
many more, in fast succession of admiring surprise, compose the Caverns of Euray, of which it has been said: “Mortal hath not made the 
like, nor human fancy conceived a thing more magnificent.” Eet the illustrations herewith convey an idea of the beauty which 
language cannot express. 

The uniform temperature of the cave is 54° Fahrenheit, which is the same as Mammoth Cave, and as the chamber-floors are dry, 
visitors are not fatigued or discomforted by long walks through the labyrinthine passages, where every step taken brings fresh marvels into 
view. To the curiously inclined the inquiry, not often asked, will appear very interesting: How did the animals whose foot-prints were 
noticed in the tenacious clay, by those who made the discovery, get into the cave? The opening by which the chambers are reached is an 
artificial one, made at the point where Mr. Campbell detected the hollow by stamping on the ground, as explained. No other ingress is yet 
known, though the cave has not been thoroughly explored; so it is possible, or probable even, that other means of entrance have long 
continued open, but the possibility also remains that its entering passage-ways may have been sealed up by an invasion of glacial drift, 
since the flood; marks of that tremendous cataclysm are plainly to be seen in the cave, and not all of the diluvium deposit has been yet 
removed or ground under foot by the 10,000 persons who visit the caverns annually. 

A trip up the Shenandoah Valley, though made in a luxurious coach on a swift-moving train, is attended by innumerable reminders 
of the great civil war, for the journey is over a succession of hotly-contested battle-fields; but the beautiful scenery, rich lands, and lovely 
farm scenes that now compose the landscape, cannot efface the recollection which monuments and cemeteries constantly revive. General 
Boynton has drawn a truthful picture of this war-famous section, in this wise: 

“Every foot south of the Potomac was fighting-ground; every town was, at some time, the headquarters of well-known forces; 
nearly every farm house was a hospital, and some of the dead and wounded of the many contests had fallen on every acre. On the Union 
side Fremont and Sigel, Milroy and Shields, Hunter and Banks, Kelley and Crook, Wilson and Sheridan, and others of note had there met 
Jackson, Ewell, Early, Stewart, Ashby, and the advance of Eee in force. There were innumerable small affairs, and many extended and 
fierce engagements. Columns in advance and in retreat ebbed and flowed there through every year of the war; while every gap opening 



HARPER’S FERRY, VIRGINIA, FROM BOLIVAR HEIGHTS 


















444 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


eastward poured its footmen and its horsemen upon the flanks, first of the one army, and then of the other. From the opening of the contest 
till is close it was the vortex of strategy. The war found it an ideal pastoral country, of rich and beautiful farms, of wealthy aud aristo¬ 
cratic families, where life in its ease and sunshine rivaled that in older lands. It was the granary and store-house of the Confederacy. 
The war left it a bare, blackened, and blasted region, its homes destroyed, its farms desolated, and its able-bodied population decimated in 
the field. But it has fully recovered again. Grass and grain have woven nature’s beautiful covering over all scars of battle, and the 
countless miles of parapets are green each year with verdure, and the fields and orchards are laden with flowers again.” 

The southwestern branch of the Baltimore and Ohio skirts the Cumberland Range, following the valley of the Shenandoah, until it 
joins the main line at Harper’s Ferry, where the Shenandoah and Potomac likewise form a junction, each stream cleaving a way through 
the mountains and watering a region of extraordinary scenic beauty. Sheridan, when operating in these valleys, declared that the country 
was so barren that a crow would have to carry its rations when flying over it; but the country has blossomed into fertility since that time, 
and now presents glorious visions of great productiveness, as well as bluffs and mountains of rugged picturesqueness. 

Harper’s Ferry was well known before the war as being the location of one of the important Government armories and arsenals, 
which were destroyed soon after the beginning of hostilities, and have not since been rebuilt. Its chief fame, however, is derived from the 
fact that the town was the seat of the John Brown insurrection (in October, 1859); and at Charleston, seven miles distant, on the road to 
Winchester, is the place where he was tried and executed. Harper’s Ferry was thus not only the scene of the opening events of the war, 
but it remained the center of action for a long time, being alternately occupied by the Union and Confederate forces, who contended with 
varying fortunes, but always with immense loss of life, in efforts to retain it as a base for their supplies. It is the magnificent scenery 
surrounding the place that now attracts the tourist’s interest, for a more beautiful section of mountain country is nowhere to be seen in the 
East. Particularly fine views are afforded from Maryland Heights, on the opposite side of the Potomac, and from Bolivar Heights, which are 
above the town, the latter being a more extensive perspective, commanding as it does a long stretch of river and the huge mountain ram¬ 
parts on the south. From this point of observation, too, the Shenandoah River is presented to the view, sprinkled with white-crested 
waves dashing over smooth-worn bowlders, that have long lain in its course, and its frowning shores that rise up into towering mountains 
and form a chain of peaks that girdle the horizon. From Maryland Heights the observer is able to look into seven counties, and across 
stretches of three States, the view being at last arrested by a soft haze that crowns the soaring summits of the Blue Ridge Range. The 
route from Harper’s Ferry was north by way of the Baltimore and Ohio and the Cumberland Valley Railroads to Harrisburg, and thence 
some of the fine scenery of Pennsylvania was visited, particularly that which lies along the line of the Pennsylvania Railroad. In going 
East, the first view of great interest which greets the eyes of observant travelers along this road, after leaving Pittsburgh, is Johnstown, a 
great manufacturing place, at the confluence of Conemaugh River and Stony Creek, but whose largest fame dates from June 1, 1889, 
when the town was swept by one of the most appalling cataclysms that has found a record in history. On that ever-memorable date the 
immense reservoir away up in the Alleghenies that held the waters of South Fork, burst without warning and rushed down, a very devastat¬ 
ing monster, into the smiling valley, which it overwhelmed with a flood forty feet deep. The result is too awful to dwell upon; two 
thousand people were whirled to their death, and the city was carried from its foundations, with a loss of $10,000,000. But Johnstown 
has recovered from the terrible blow which it received on that opening day of summer, and the blazing forge of the rolling-mills has 
again brought prosperity to the place. 

Beyond Johnstown a magnificent panorama of the Alleghenies breaks into view with their myriad phases of beauty and grandeur. 
As we follow down the Conemaugh, along the breast of the mountains are the remains of inclined planes of the Portage Railroad, by which 
loaded canal-boats were transported over the mountains at points where the canal was not yet constructed. This was before the davs of 
steam railroads, when canals were the most expeditious mode of freight transportation. Beyond Cressons the road begins the ascent of the 
Alleghenies, and in doing so makes many turns, and from the right hand of the road a gorgeous spectacle is presented looking down into 
the valleys, where the houses are dwarfed by distance until they look like mole-hills, and men are not distinguishable. There are horse- 



THE HORSESHOE CURVE AT KITTANING, PENNSYLVANIA, 





















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


446 

shoe curves as sharp and graceful as any on the roads that climb over western mountains, while the scene is often more picturesque because 
of the high state of cultivation of the mountain slopes. A tunnel three-quarters of a mile in length pierces the brow of one of the highest 
peaks, after which the road descends rapidly to Cressons, a place noted for its seven mineral springs. Altoona is next passed, and a few 
minutes later the train rushes around the beautiful horseshoe curve at Kittaning, affording a charming prospect of lofty mountains, 
surrounding a lake of exquisite beauty, made by damming a pretty stream that comes gamboling down from cool retreats in the high altitudes. 

Out of the Tuckalioe Valley and on to Tyone, where the Little Juniata is reached, along whose sweet-smelling banks the road 
hastens by Broad Top Mountain, Sliding Hill, through the gap of Jack’s Mountain, and thence into the Long Narrows, which is traversed 
by highway, river and canal, running in competition with the railroad. For several miles the scenery is wondrously beautiful, with 
kaleidoscopic glimpses of swift-passing mountain, foaming water-ways, laughing cascades, and bounty-bestowing valleys bedewed with the 
delicious waters of the blue Juniata. Thence on to Harrisburg the road speeds, with many a twist through smiling vales that swathe the 
mountain’s feet with ribbons of verdure; across the Susquehanna, where the river is more than a mile wide and freckled with impeding 
stones. Lancaster is soon reached, and thence eastward the scenery grows in grandeur until Chester Valley is passed and Paoli conies into 
view. This place is famous in history from the fact that here took place a massacre which will be remembered for ages as a reproach to 
the British. On September 20, 1777, the American forces under General Anthony Wayne were surprised by a large army of British 
regulars, commanded by General Gray. Notwithstanding the superior numbers of the enemy and his unpreparedness, General Wayne 
offered a stubborn resistance, and not until nearly one-lialf his men had fallen in the desperate conflict did he capitulate, upon terms of 
honorable surrender. Instead of observing- the rules which obtain among civilized nations, after the Americans had laid down their arms 
the British mercilessly slaughtered many of their helpless prisoners. A monument, erected in 1817, marks the site of this shameful 
tragedy. Eastward from Paoli the road traverses one of the fairest sections in the world, resembling the richest agricultural regions of 
England, where the soil is in the highest possible state of cultivation and the farm houses are models of architectural elegance, with a 
gradual increase in the beauties of the prosperous landscape until the train pursues its way through Fairmount Park and into the great 
metropolis of Philadelphia. 

Northward from Philadelphia our artist traveled, through Bethlehem to the Delaware Water Gap, where the Delaware River forges 
its way through the Blue Mountains, the point of passage being narrowed by walls from 1,200 to 1,600 feet high, which seem to clasp the 
sturdy stream in colossal arms, of half affection and half restraint. This tremendous gorge formerly bore the Indian name of Minnisink, 
signifying “ Whence the waters are gone, ” which is thus explained by a local geologist: “ Here a vast lake once probably extended; and 
whether the great body of water wore its way through the mountain by a fall like Niagara, or burst through a gorge, it is certain that the 
Minnisink country bears the mark of aqueous action in its diluvial soil, and in its rounded hills, built of pebbles and bowlders.” The gap 
proper is about two miles long, when the mountains recede on both sides, as if at one time some terrific disturbance had thrown up a giant 
ridge in the path of the river. It is apparent also that centuries ago the passage, though hardly more than one hundred yards wide now, 
was very much narrower, and the name given to it by the Indians was no doubt suggested by this cleft through which the pent-up waters 
must have dashed with terrific force and roar. 

The two mountains between which the river passes are named in honor of two famous Indian chiefs, that on the New Jersey side 
being called Tammany, and the one on the Pennsylvania shore being known as Minsi. Chief Tammany was of the Delaware tribe, whose 
bravery and magnanimity was such that he was canonized as the patron saint of America, but his name is best perpetuated by New York 
City’s political organization. The two mountains, adjacent, and which were no doubt one before the wearing waters cut a way through it, 
exhibit marked differences, which, to a casual observer, would seem to controvert this theory. Mount Minsi is a graceful peak crowned 
with dense forest growths, while Tammany is a gigantic rock that rises in broken ledges, almost terraces, from the river, on one of which, 
two hundred feet above the river, a hotel has been built to accommodate summer tourists. And the scenery is grand enough to lure lovers 
of the picturesque in nature. Just below the hotel falls a silvery cascade whose waters are derived from Hunter’s Spring, that bursts out of 






















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


448 

the mountain side, and perambulates through many sequestered nooks, moss-eovered and beflowered, before it drops into a pool called 
Diana’s Bath, thence over Caldeno Falls, and slides into the river. Above the source of the waterfall is a lofty ledge known as Lover’s 
Leap, and to the left another promontory called Prospect Rock, while near-by is a clear lake on the very apex of the mountain, which 
visitors are told is of an unfathomable depth. 

But though Tammany is the more ruggedly picturesque, Minsi offers the more entrancing prospect, expanding on the east until the 
whole of New Jersey seems to be spread out to view. A mile below the Gap the scenery becomes curiously pretty, for the river has worn 
the banks into grottoes and fantastic forms. Here are such objects of interest as Indian Ladder Bluff, Cold-Air Cave, Point of Rocks, 
Burner’s Spring, etc., while a few miles above the Gap there are bits of nature positively charming. Bushkill Creek pours its contribution 
into the Delaware five miles from the Gap and a few hundred yards from its outlet the stream tumbles over a precipice twenty feet high in 
a sheet of water that looks like a curtain of lace. On an affluent of the Bushkill are two other cataracts of even greater beauty, known as 
Buttermilk and Marshall, both of which may be reached in a half-hour’s walk from the river, and are within seven miles of the hotel on 
Tammany’s ledge. A feature of the Water Gap, which vies in interest with the natural scenery, is the railroad-bed around the base of 
Tammany, where it exacts a space from both the river and the mountain, in order to secure sufficient width for passage. At this point the 
gap is narrowest and the cliffs most stupendous, right where the jaws of the gorge are set in firmest resolution to prevent a full flow of the 
river, and where a rushing current betrays irritation at the impediment by a ceaseless roar. 

Twenty-five miles above the Water Gap is another section of wild and weirdly grand scenery,where Dingman’s Creek carols through 
the copses and takes a header into the Delaware, like a swimmer at the bath. Dingman’s Ferry is a small hamlet containing a score of 
houses, but what it lacks in population is made up in public interest by its picturesque surroundings. The region is intersected by numerous 
streams, which are noted for their impetuous courses and numerous falls. Of these Colosseum Falls are the largest, and by many are 
regarded as the most beautiful; but Bridal Veil Falls are more exquisitely fascinating to the artist. The stream is not large, but the 
precipice is high, and so gracefully terraced that the water makes a succession of leaps, and each time is spread by the ledges until at its 
last fall it is as airy as a bride’s veil. Its sedgy banks and bosky shelves add to the general effect in a way that compels the thought of 
fairy bowers and naiads’ retreats. Factory Falls are the largest cataracts of this sylvan region, pouring a considerable volume of water over 
serrated brinks, and twisting around in shapely ways that add ineffable grace to the boiling, laughing and playful waters. Cadedenean 
Falls are almost as graceful, but are spread over a greater surface, and fall into the creek in the form of an outspread fan. The “ Brakes 
and Braes of Bonny Doon ” were not more charming to the eyes of the poet than the soul-delighting coverts and falls about Dingman’s. 
In the spring-time these streams are swollen to immense proportions, and it is then that the falls display their greatest grandeur, filling the 
woods with their torrential orisons; but in summer they exhibit the most marvelous graces, for it is then the waters are crystalline in their 
purity, and the dewy mosses along their brinks look like garlands of diamonds, which the branches of bordering thickets stoop down to kiss. 

From Dingman’s Ferry our photographer passed on to Milford, and thence by the Erie Road to New York City, where a junction 
was made with the two other photographers for a trip to the sunny lands of the South. 


CHAPTER XIII. 


THROUGH LANGUOROUS LANDS OF THE SUNNY SOUTH. 



EW YORK CITY possesses many attractions for the cosmopolitan, but not for the artist, who prefers nature's solitudes to the artificial 
glamor and noisy hum of a large city; hence our stay in that city was only for such time as it required to make preparations for 
extending our pictorial journey through summer lands of the southeast. Instead of carrying our original plans into immediate 
execution, however, it was decided to visit the battle-field of Gettysburg, which our artist coming up through \ irginia and 
Pennsylvania did not find it convenient to include in his journey. The town of Gettysburg has a population of some 3,500 souls,, 
and is the capital of Adams county, Pennsylvania, the center of a blooming and bounteously-producing agricultural district. Our 
route to reach the place was by way of the Pennsylvania Railroad to Hanover, and thence by the Western Maryland Railroad, a distance of 
250 miles from New York. The landscape thereabout is undulating, occasionally rising to hills of considerable size; but scenically there is 

nothing particularly attractive, 
aside from the beautiful farms 
and truck-gardens that clothe 
the knolls with prodigal har¬ 
vests. Historically, the place 
is imperishably famous, for here 
was fought, on the 1st, 2d and 
3d of July, 1863, the bloodiest 
and hottest-contested battle of 
the civil war. From every emi¬ 
nence this dreadful field, though 
it now smiles with plenty, still 
presents memorials of that ever- 
memorable conflict. There is 
Cemetery Hill, the old grave- 
place of the town, where thou¬ 
sands slept before the awakening- 
alarms of cannon and musket 
enveloped the scene in battle- 
smoke. Here it was that the- 
Union forces, under General 
Meade, pitched their quarters, 
because it commanded a view of 
the adjacent country. One mile 
towards the west is Seminary 
Ridge, the spot chosen by the 

TOMB OVER THE GRAVE OF WASHINGTON’S MOTHER, AT FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA. Confederates,underGeneral Lee,. 

449 29 













AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


45° 


as tlieir vantage-point and headquarters. Now sweep the horizon and mark the places where the battle waxed fiercest; where the dead lay 
thickest and the thunder of conflict was loudest. There is Willoughby Run, where the battle began and where Buford's cavalry was 
hurled upon the steel of Hill, and for two hours withstood the hell of ball and bayonet until flesh could endure no more. There is Round 
Top, another eminence where the Union lines reformed, with the left wing thrown around the ridges to Cemetery Hill. There is where 



Longstreet struck Sickles with 
such fearless resolution, and a 
whole day was spent in a con¬ 
tention for Great and Little 
Round Top, without advantage 
to either side, but with frightful 
losses to both. Now on Ceme¬ 
tery Hill the eyes of the world 
must rest, for here it was, on the 
third day, that such fighting was 
done as Greek nor Roman ever 
knew. After a lull at midday, 
two hundred brazen throats 
were opened with boom and 
screaming shells; the air became 
filled with smoke, and the earth 
was choked with dead, until 
there came a lull, out of which 
broke a column three miles 
long, whose gray uniforms soon 
proclaimed the advance of Gen¬ 
eral Pickett leading his army 
in a desperate resolve to storm 
the Union position. No charge 
ever made was more terrible, 
no repulse was ever more fatal. 

Americans, whatever be their 
sympathies, whatever their 
prejudices, may feel proud of 
the heroism displayed by both 
armies on that day of carnage 
around Cemetery Hill. It was 
a courage that glorifies America. 

The 54,000 souls that laid down their arms and answered roll-call the morning of July 4th on the parade-grounds of paradise, were 
our countrymen. They were distinguished by uniforms of blue and gray then; they are invested with robes now that are woven without 
color. Let the trumpets blare, and the drums be beaten, but let it be on Memorial Day, as salutes of remembrance for the heroes who died 


THE DEVIL’S DEN, BATTLE-FIELD OF GETTYSBURG. 






















452 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


within the gates of Cemetery Hill, at Round Top, the Stone Fence, Culp’s Hill, Seminary Ridge, Willoughby Run and Benner’s Hill. 

Gettysburg is of itself a monument to human courage, but its field of blood has been made a national cemetery of seventeen acres, 
which was dedicated with imposing ceremonies on November 19, 1863, at which President Lincoln made the greatest address ever 
delivered on American soil, “With malice toward none, with charity for all.” A soldiers’ monument was erected in 1868, which is sixty, 
feet high, surmounted by a marble figure of Liberty, and occupies a crown of the hill, where it is a conspicuous object for miles 
and arranged in semi-circles about the base are the graves of nearly three thousand of the unidentified victims of the dreadful conflict. 


'“Thus sleep the brave who sank to 
rest, 

By all their Country’s wishes blest.’’ 

From Gettysburgh our 
route was southwest to Wash¬ 
ington, and thence by way of 
Fredericksburg to Appomat¬ 
tox. From Washington the 
Richmond, Fredericksburg 
and Potomac Railroad runs 
through a sterile section, unre¬ 
lieved by either picturesque 
scenery or smiling field, so that 
a part of it has long been known 
as the Wilderness, famous, how¬ 
ever, as the scene of many great 
battles in 1863-4, many traces 
of which are still to be seen 
from the car windows of pass¬ 
ing trains. Fredericksburg 
is distinguished also as the 
vicinity in which Washington 
was born, and where he spent 
the greater part of his youth. 
Here it was also that Washing¬ 
ton’s mother lived for a long 
time, and died in 1789. A 
monument erected in 1883, in 
the suburbs of the town, marks 


A VILLAGE SCENE OF HAPPY CONTENT IN VIRGINIA. 


the place of her sepulture. Twelve miles beyond Fredericksburg is the battle-ground of Spottsylvania Court House, where Stonewall 
Jackson received his death wound, May 2, 1863. Indeed, the region for fifty miles thereabout is still scarred by the strokes of contending 
armies delivered thirty years ago, and cemeteries in which repose the heroic dead of both Union and Confederate are numerous, marked 
by many monuments to attest the appreciation of the living for the sacrifices which were endured in those dreadful years of the sixties. But 
if the country is somewhat barren, and gruesome with reminders of fratricidal strife, it is not entirely destitute of the phases that lend 



































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AN OLD COLONIAL HOUSE AT APPOMATTOX, VIRGINIA 











AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


454 



cheerfulness to life. Here is essentially the land of happy negroes, where poverty abounds with joy, for absence of responsibility is 
contentment of mind with the colored race. At the depot there is always a swarm of pickaninnies eager to scramble for pennies thrown to 
the crowd, and the most comical scenes imaginable occur at these tussles, for the little darkies themselves, in an array of all sizes and 
shades of black and brown, a company of tatterdemalions that would put Punch and Judy to rout, are ludicrous enough to make a goat 
laugh. The street-scenes of villages near-by, as well as in the suburbs of Fredericksburg, are equally whimsical, presenting, as they often 
do, human nature in its most grotesque aspect. Horses are rarely used by negroes for draught purposes; mules more frequently; but 
bulls, cows and yearling calves are the chief dependence, and carts the popular style of conveyance with these happy-go-lucky people. 
There is no need for haste, 
and the loads are never large, 
hence a yoke of cattle. are as 
handy as a span of horses, and 
preferable because slow move¬ 
ment allows more sleep on the 
way. The sun makes the 
tobacco grow, and the rain 
makes music on the cabin-roof; 
so rain or shine the darkey's 
heart is always light and the 
future is hidden from him by a 
veil of present delight. Such 
sights teach the value of content, 
even if they do offend ambition, 
and in them the philosopher's 
stone has its hiding-place. 

From Fredericksburg our 
route was northwest to Appo¬ 
mattox and thence east by way 
of Richmond to Fortress Mon¬ 
roe, on the peninsula. We were 
a little disappointed to find the 
site of the culminating event of 


the war destitute of any special 
feature of interest of either a FORTRESS MONROE, VIRGINIA. 

natural or artificial character. The scene of surrender is not even marked by a monument, and the country thereabout is a pale and 
somber stretch of poorly-cultivated lands. Yet there are exceptions; for occasionally the monotony of cabin and broken fence is relieved bv 
prolific tobacco-fields, pretty towns, and inviting manors adorned with colonial houses that still preserve their old-time air of comfort and 
Southern hospitality. Virginia well deserves the title of thte Dominion State, not only because she is the mother of Presidents, but 
because she is also distinguished as the native state of many of the greatest men and women born on American soil. “ To be a Virginian, is 
to be a gentleman,” has passed into an adage; and the country is proud of her for a hundred reasons, which reference to history will explain. 
If her soil is not the most fertile, yet her legacy is the richest, for she gave to the world siich men as Washington, Madison, Jefferson, 


















AN OLD CABIN HOME IN GEORGIA. 




























45 6 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



Randolph, Clay, Lee, and a thousand others whose names and deeds are alike imperishable. Fortress Monroe is reached by the Chesapeake 
and Ohio Railroad, over which route we traveled from Appomattox. It is located at the point of a peninsula, formed by the Fork and 
James Rivers, which projects into Chesapeake Bay where it joins the Atlantic. The situation is particularly favorable for a Government 
fortress, and its natural and commanding advantages have been fully utilized, for it is the largest and strongest fortification in America. 
Hampton Roads separates the point of the peninsula from the opposite land. This body of water is about five miles wide and forms the out¬ 
let of James River. It was in the Roads that the most famous of modern naval battles, between the Monitor and the Memmac (\ irginia), 
took place, March 9,1862. 

Two miles below Fortress 
Monroe is Old Point Com¬ 
fort, a very popular resort 
and the seat of the Na¬ 
tional Soldiers’ Home. 

Newport News is nine 
miles above the Fortress, 
on Hampton Roads; and 
Yorktown, the place of 
Cornwallis’ surrender to 
Washington, October 
19, 1781, is twenty-five 
miles north, on York 
River, both places pos¬ 
sessing great historic in¬ 
terest for events of which 
they were the scene during 
the Revolutionary war. 

Crossing Hampton 
Roads by steamer to Nor¬ 
folk, we proceeded south¬ 
ward by the Norfolk 
Southern Railroad, 
through a region known 
as the Dismal Swamp, 
famous alike in fact and 

£ t DRUMMOND’S LAKE, IN GREAT DISMAL SWAMP, VIRGINIA, 

fiction. The term has 

been indelibly affixed to two extensive stretches of morass, the larger of which lies between the James River on the north and Albe¬ 
marle Sound on the south, thus covering a part of Virginia and North Carolina, having a length of about forty miles and a breadth of 
twenty-five miles. Little Dismal Swamp is wholly within North Carolina, in the peninsula between Albemarle Sound and Pimlico 
Sound, and while occupying considerably less than one-third as much area as Great Dismal, is probably better known to readers because of 
the tragedies which have been enacted within its dark and gloomy districts. Speaking generally, the swamps are composed of a spongy, 
-vegetable soil, but without any mixture of earth, which supports a dense growth of aquatic plants, brush-wood aud timber. Sir Charles 




























OLD FORT AND SEA WALL AT ST.'AUGUSTINE. FLORIDA 




























AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


45 s 



Lyell, the distinguished geologist, was first to bring to notice the curious fact that the surface of the swamp is actually twelve feet higher 
in many places than the surrounding country, so that its drainage is outward, except where a few small streams flow in from the west side. 
The center of Great Dismal is occupied by Drummond’s Lake, an oval basin six miles long and three wide, with perpendicular banks and 
fifteen feet depth of water. In and around this lake is a veritable paradise for hunters, for its waters abound with fish and wild fowl, and 
the adjacent woods are the favorite haunts of deer, bears, wild-cats, coons and swamp-rabbits. The region, inexpressibly dreary as it is, 
contributes largely to commerce by furnishing immense supplies of timber. To facilitate transportation the Great Swamp is intersected by 
canals, the two largest 
being those which con¬ 
nect the Elizabeth and 
Pasquotank Rivers, and 
Elizabeth River with 
Carrituck Sound. 

Some queer little 
cabins are built along 
these water-ways, a few 
being occupied by tim¬ 
ber cutters, but generally 
they are the temporary 
abodes of hunters who 
find shooting and trap¬ 
ping both pleasurable 
and profitable, and who 
work at logging out of 
game season. Little Dis¬ 
mal Swamp, though 
smaller than its more 
northern neighbor, is 
very much more dense 
with brush-wood, and de¬ 
cidedly more forbidding, 
because its gloomy depths 
rarely echo with the 


voice 


of 


man, or 


sound of the woodman’s 


A HUNTER’S CABIN ON THE CANAL, DISMAL SWAMP. 


ax. Fifty years ago it was the refuge of runaway negroes, and a dangerous place for a white man to be seen, because the blacks who hid 
in its thick coverts were usually of the most desperate character, who would not hesitate at crime. One of the best-remembered, because 
the most tragic, negro insurrections that ever occurred in Virginia was headed by a Samsonian black named Nat Turner. Under his 
leadership more than a hundred armed negroes rose against their masters and massacred a score of men, women and children. When a 
sufficient force of whites was mustered to oppose them, the negroes fled to Little Dismal Swamp, where, after great length of time, they 
were starved into surrender. Nat Turner, however, was last to submit to his pursuers, and committed so ma;iy crimes, while the search 




















iMWi 



PONCE DE LEON HOTEL, ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA 





































460 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


for him continued, that his very name became a terror; but he was at last captured through betrayal by a negro 


whom he trusted, and after 



due trial was convicted and hanged. 

Our next halting place on the flight southward was Savannah, the Gate City, as it is the Queen City of the South. Next to Atlanta 
in commercial importance, Savannah is easily first of all sunny metropoli in the superb beauty of its situation and the park grandeur of its 
surroundings. Here it was that General Ogelthorpe founded his Georgia colony early in 1733; and the flourishing city, from which the 
first ocean steamer that ever at¬ 
tempted to cross the Atlantic 
sailed, and its rank as the sec¬ 
ond cotton port of the United 
States, are striking proofs of 
his foresight and excellent dis¬ 
crimination. 

The city is situated on a 
bold bluff overlooking the Sa¬ 
vannah River, along which it 
extends in a curved front for a 
distance of three miles, afford¬ 
ing excellent wharfage. The 
streets are all very broad and 
magnificently shaded, while 
parks containing one to three 
acres occur at all the principal 
intersections, charmingly laid 
out and beautified with flowers, 
which grow in that warm cli¬ 
mate in the richest profusion. 

Flower gardens constitute one 
of the most characteristic fea¬ 
tures of the place, for a majority 
of the residences are surrounded 
by ample grounds that are 
abloom with flowering plants 
throughout the vear. This is 

the borderland of southern ever- 

- At t , , . . BONAVENTURE CEMETERY, SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, 

greens, where the stately oak is 

festooned with pearl-gray mosses, and the orange and the magnolia fill the air with delicious perfumes. Along the streets, too, are rows of 
flowering oleanders, pomegranates, palmettos, bananas, laurels, bays and sweet crape-myrtles. But of all the beauties about Savannah none 
rival the charms of Bonaventure Cemetery, four in lies from the city, on Warsaw River, and reached by a shell road that is equal to any 
drive-way in the world. Every grave is a flower-bed, and the long avenues canopied with moss-garlanded oaks present a picture Arcadian 
in its loveliness, and suggestive of those flowery glades through which immortals might delight to wander. 












OLD CITY GATES, ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA 























462 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



The country district about Savannah is somewhat similar in appearance to that of Western North Carolina, except that its mountains 
are not nearly so high. The soil, however, is practically the same, as are the social conditions; and hence the constant reminder of that 
section which we have already described. The old log-cabin is a familiar sight in Georgia, often vine-wreathed, and showing signs of 
great antiquity, with roofs of clap-board, upon which the rain patters like the long-roll beat of a snare-drum. The picture which we present 
is typical of this class, and an example as well of rural simplicity. Homely, battered by time, and affording few comforts, yet in such 
cabins greatness has often had its birth, nor scorned such humble nativity. How many men of high estate lie down in the drapery of fine 
linen and, when night has folded the earth in her sable arms, think of the old cabin home in Georgia; of the long time ago; of the bubbling 
spring in the hollow and the gourd that hung by it; of the grape-vine swing, and the cows mooing in the pasture; of father and mother, 
and the graves on the hillside. 

And there is a sigh from the 
heart. The old time was the 
flush of life’s morning; it is 
growing evening now, and the 
shadows are creeping up the 
slopes. Soon the present will 
be the “old times’’ to our 
children. How many men who 
have achieved greatness would 
exchange their possessions and 
positions for youth and the old 
cabin home as they see it now 
in their dreams! Many, yes, 
very many. 

Inseparable, almost, from 
the log-house of the Southern 
poor, is the cabin home of the 
negro, because the two are 
separated by such a thin line of 
t distinction that only critical in¬ 
spection can prevent them from 
assimilating in the minds of 
those unfamiliar with Southern 
life. There is the same stone- 

chimney and clap-board roof, but the colored man’s cabin is a single room, and the front is porchless. More hasty construction is also 
noted, for the logs are laid like a turkey-pen, and clap-boards are used again, not for weather-boarding, but as a substitute for batten. 
Windows are not needed, through which to exchange civilities with the season, for there are holes and crannies to let smoke out, and 
plenty of accidental entrances for the warm summer air to get in. It is thus at small effort and no care the worst weather is kept out, and 
contentedness reigns within. 

Through Georgia and into the land of orange groves we sped, stopping a day at Jacksonville, and then hurried on to San Augustine, 
the oldest town in America (founded by the Spanish in 1565), and possibly the most interesting. It is a link which connects the present 


A HOME IN THE MOUNTAINS OF GEORGIA. 



















AMONG THE PALMETTOS ON BANKS OF HALIFAX RIVER, FLORIDA. 

























AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


464 



with the earliest events of discovery in our country—a link rusty with the blood of conquest and martyrdom. Here it was that Spanish 
cruelty and French retaliation were carried to the most barbaric extreme, and the enslavement of native Indians began. Passing through 
the first ordeals of settlement, a century later it was bitterly afflicted by raids of Indians and the plundering of pirates, so that its growth 
was prevented, and not until the British surrendered possession to the United States in 1821, did the place show any indications of per¬ 
manency, or that it would attain to any importance beyond what it had before reached as a very small village. 

St. Augustine is located on a narrow peninsula formed by the Matauzas and San Sebastian Rivers, and is separated from the ocean 
by Anastasia Island. From a place of little consequence, in the last few years it has become distinguished as the most popular winter resort 
in the South. Several things have 
conspired to bring about this 
change, chief of which, however, 
was the enterprises of Mr. H. M. 

Flagler, who, recognizing its 
favorable location, resolved to con¬ 
vert the town from a listless, sleep¬ 
ing, poverty-stricken village into 
such an Eden of loveliness as the 
arts of man can create. In accom¬ 
plishing this object he spent 
$6,000,000, and the improvements 
are of such a character as may well 
satisfy his ambition. The Ponce 
de Leon Hotel is a revival of the 
richest examples of Moorish archi¬ 
tecture. It is old Spain of the 
golden reign of Ibn-l-Ahmar trans¬ 
ported to American shores. And 
strange coincidence it is, that the 
year in which Columbus set sail on 
his first western voyage in quest of 
eastern lands, the year of the 
Moorish Expulsion, the beautiful 
Alhambra, most magnificent build¬ 
ing that ever graced the earth, was 
given over to vandalism and 
spoliation. The Ponce de Leon, with its lavish adornment, picturesque style and exquisite grounds, in which every known tropical plant 
is made to add its beauty and shed its fragrance, while fountains cool the summer air, is a reminder of the great palace of Grenada, and 
the chivalry of Spain in the time of Columbus. 

But the interest to St. Augustine visitors is not confined to the Ponce de Leon, glorious as it is, joined though it be to its almost 
equally superb annexes, the Cordova and Alcazar, for the city is filled with the relics of an olden time, and associations that are almost 
painful to recall. Along its water-front extends a sea wall one mile in length and ten feet broad, built of coquina and coped with granite, 


THE HEAD OF HALIFAX RIVER, ABOVE ORMOND. 
























AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


466 



forming an incomparable promenade between the old Franciscan monastery, now used as a barracks, and the ancient fort of San Marco, 
now known as Fort Marion. Though not the most formidable, these antique fortifications rank all others of this country in interest. Their 
construction was begun by Menendez de Aviles in 1565, at the time of the founding, but were not completed until two centuries later, all of 
the work being performed by enslaved Indians. The fortifications cover about four acres, and the walls are of coquina, a conglomerate of 
shells and sand brought from Anastasia Island, which, soft when dug, hardens by exposure. The fort is a splendid example of the best 
military architecture of the time, being in the shape of a trapezium, surrounded by a wide and deep moat, and with walls twenty-one feet 
high, sharp bastions at the corners, thick casemates, and subterranean passages and vaults which might serve equally for refuge ports or 
dungeons. That some of these were used 
for the latter purpose is proved by the fact 
that in one of the least accessible dungeon- 
rooms, the entrance to which was acci¬ 
dentally found, two skeletons chained to 
the wall were discovered. What a story 
of suffering these might tell if they could 
speak! 

In the earlier centuries a wall extended 
across the peninsula, which protected the 
city from attack on the north side, but 
nothing now remains of this defense except 
the old city gates, at the head of St. George 
street. These are massive square towers 
fifteen feet high, pierced with loop-holes, 
and at the base of each is a sentry-box, 
which the guards occupied when on duty. 

Near the center of the business part of 
the city is the old slave-market, adjoining 
which is the Plaza de la Constitution, con¬ 
taining a monument erected in 1812, 
commemorative of the Spanish Liberal 
Constitution, while another monument 
stands in front of the old Market, which 

was erected in 1879, in honor of the Con¬ 
federate dead. PALMETTO HUTS NEAR TITUSVILLE, FLORIDA. 

Besides being a great winter resort, St. Augustine is a place of some commercial importance, its largest industry being the manufact¬ 
ure of palmetto hats, while in the convents a fine quality of lace goods is made, by girls and the nuns in charge. 

It is about seventy-five miles from St. Augustine to Ormond by the Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railroad, one of the branches 
of the Plant System, whose terminus is Daytona, five miles below Ormond. Indeed, nearly every road in Florida is the property of the 
Plant company,which has proven a factor of incalculable benefit to the State, and has reaped correspondingly great reward. Ormond is located 
on the head of Halifax River,which is a part of the Indian River Lagoon, connected by the Mosquito Haul-Over, or canal. We are now in 
the sub-tropics, and among the paridisaic delights of a marvelous sun-browned land,where the mocking-bird opens the matin competition in 













RUBBER, OR BANYAN TREE, ON BANANA RIVER, FLORIDA. 






















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


468 



the college of vernal hymns, and the palmettos are vocal with the softly stirring breeze. The landscape is a dreamy haze of incomparable 
loveliness, where a feast of flowers is perpetually spread, and the voice of peris may be heard down under the green waters of a murmuring 
sea. Only a thin stretch of golden beach lies between the mainland, on which Ormond is located, and the ocean, so near that the billows 
are distinctly heard beating against the shore. Along this water-front of lagoon and sea are gleaming sands so hard that step nor wheel 
make any impression, and so inviting that nymphs might make it a playground. West of the village is a typical hummock of tropical 
growths, penetrated by a glade that is embowered and sweetly shaded by massive oaks gracefully festooned with pearl-gray mosses, and 
palmettos that flaunt their tangled, rustling branches before the beaming sun. Hereabout, too, are groves rich-laden with fruits as golden 
as those that were plucked by 
Hercules in the garden of Hes- 
perides; where the orange and 
the banana bend beneath the 
weight of their own delicious¬ 
ness, and pour out their honey 
to the bees in rich extravagance. 

At Ormond boat was taken 
for a trip down Indian River, 
a journey which all the speech 
of adjective and imagery cannot 
justly describe. Indian River 
and Halifax River are not 
streams, but shallow lagoons, 
strips of the ocean enclosed by 
narrow tongues of sandy beach, 
severed by occasional inlets 
through which the billows break 
tumultuously. Its extreme 
length, for the two are now joined 
by a canal, is about two hundred 
miles, and though rarely more 
than three feet deep, and in 
placess less, the lagoon is navi¬ 
gated by a line of stern-wheel 
boats, which, in winter-time, 
are crowded with excursionists, 

notwithstanding their sleeping accommodations are confined almost entirely to cots in the cabins. One line runs to Titusville, and there 
connects with another, which carries passengers as far south as Jupiter, the southern limit of the river. In the last year (1892) a railroad 
has been built from Titusville to Rockledge, and is being pushed southward, so that in another year or two the trip to Jupiter may be made 
by rail. But the boat journey, though beset by some liarassments, consequent upon narrow passages and low water, w T ill lose little of its 
popularity, because it will always remain one of the most delightful that can be taken. The connection between Halifax and Indian Rivers 
is by means of a canal that requires constant dredging, and through which it is difficult to pass with boat when the wind is blowing hard; 


IN THE DEEP PALMETTO SOLITUDES ALONG INDIAN RIVER. 







ROCKLEDGE, ON INDIAN RIVER, FLORIDA 










AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


47 ° 


while at times it is so choked 
with sand that the boats have 
to be literally dragged through 
by means of hawser and capstan. 
New Smyrna is a town of some 
importance, as is Titusville, but 
besides these, the landings are 
of no consequence as trading- 
places, consisting of never more 
than one or two stores and as 
many houses. This sparseness 
of population increases the in¬ 
terest of travelers on the river, 
for the charm of primeval 
beauty and attractiveness thus 
remains. 

As a rule the banks are 
covered with spiney-palmetto, 
which is almost as difficult to 
eradicate as Canada thistle, and 
hence few attempts are made to 
reclaim the laud, as the cost of 
clearing exceeds the value. But 
at occasional intervals the banks 
are diversified with orange 
groves, and bananas are also 
raised to some extent, but the 
chief industry is fishing, for the 
river abounds with sheephead, 
pompano, mullet, cavalli, and 
green turtles. Rockledge is a 
resort of great popularity, but 
of no commercial importance, 
for it does not contain a single 
store. For beauty, however, it 
is almost unrivalled, being 
richly adorned by nature and 
lavishly beautified by the arts 
of man. The large cabbage 
palmettos that grow up wildly 



SPOUTING ROCK, NEAR JUPITER. 















ORANGE GROVE AT ROCKLEDGE, INDIAN RIVER, FLORIDA 




















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


472 



along its coquina banks were suffered to remain, and between them avenues were laid out and covered with shells, so that from the river 
there is a lovely prospect of gleaming walks ramifying a shore of brilliant green. Here also the orange grows in its most delicious perfection, 
likewise the lemon, banana, and grape fruit; and such a breeze of perfume greets the incoming passenger as paradise itself might exhale. 

The river at Rockledge is nearly six miles wide and furnishes the finest sea for sailing, for the salt-air is present, and the dangers of 
heavy billows are absent. Across this expanse lies a broad strip of land which is divided by another lagoon called Banana River, along 
which is a charming vista of wood that has been named by some admirer Fairyland. This strip of forest-growth is beautiful enough to 
justify the name, and wandering through groves of oranges, palms, magnolias and paw-paws, on shell-walks of snowy whiteness fancy 
pictures a troop of dryads pic- 
nicing among the trees, and 
drinking nectar from flaming 
begonia flowers that sprinkle 
the woods with scarlet. At 
the lower end of Fairyland 
is a natural park in which 
gnarledoaksspread theirgiant 
shadows over a lawn of grasses, 
and on the margin is a grove of 
pine-apples, the fragrance of 
which almost stifles the odor 
from the orange-blossoms. A 
single cottage is the only 
habitation in this poetic re¬ 
treat, before the door of which 
are lofty paw-paws waving 
their feathery crests, and a 
gigantic rubber, or banyan 
tree, whose branches woo the 
soil and have taken root 
therein. Only one other speci¬ 
men of this remarkable tree, 
of equal size, is found in the 
United States, and it, too, is 
a native of Florida, being one 

of the chief curiosities of Key West. There are other species that exhibit a disposition to fix the points of their drooping branches in the 
ground, but it is peculiar to the banyan to send out shoots from its main stems, which, instead of growing upward, point straight down, and 
even before reaching the ground the ends put out root-tendrils, which strike into the soil and firmly attach themselves as soon as they reach 
the earth. As the boat proceeds southward from Rockledge the way grows in interest, for we soon reach what may be called “the region of 
water-fowls.” Ducks, coots, water-hens, absolutely cover the river’s surface, while pelicans increase in number until we reach Pelican 
Island, where they swarm by thousands. The rising of water-fowl before the boat is a wondrous sight, and the beating of their wings on 
the water produces a sound like a heavy fall of hail on a dry clap-board roof; there are positively millions, and the commotion which they 


LAKE OKEECHOBEE, FLORIDA. 








A PINE-APPLE GROVE ON INDIAN RIVER, FLORIDA. 





AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


474 



create is almost pandemonium. Another remarkable sight which we witnessed was a school of porpoises that had strayed into the lagoon 
(for they are not commonly found there) which, being frightened by the boat, made a retreat across the river in sueli precipitation that the 
shallow water was beaten into foam, leaving a streak of white behind them that marked their course some time after. 

The character of the shore vegetation also changed, the spiney-palmetto giving place to mangroves that grow so thickly a man 
might almost walk on their tops. In these deep forests wild game is abundant, including deer, bear, panthers and ’coons; and on our journey 
we saw a ’coon that had so little fear it scarcely moved even when the boat brushed the limb upon which it sat. When night falls upon 
these solemnly somber deep woods a sense of dread steals on the traveler, though he be in a gay crowd on a good steamboat. The river 
narrows for nearly ten miles 
through the mangrove thickets, 
and during this interval the 
banks are within reach from 
both sides. The passage is 
tortuous, too, and the boat re¬ 
quires slow and careful hand¬ 
ling, frequently the bow striking 
one bank and the stern the 
other, while the electric bull’s- 
eye light penetrates and flashes 
like a Druid’s fire dance in the 
tangled copse where many slimy 
and uncanny things have their 
haunts. An alligator’s grunt, 
a loon’s cry, a frog’s hoarse 
croak, and a snake-bird’s piping 
are some of the sounds that an¬ 
imate the solitudes, and crack¬ 
ing branches betray the prox¬ 
imity of some wild beast whose 
eyes are like lanterns in the 
darkness. 

After hours of patient work¬ 
ing, Jupiter Narrows are passed 
and the boat speeds on, her 
iron hull often grinding on the A CAMP OF CONSUMPTIVES, NEAR LAKE WORTH, FLORIDA. 

oyster-beds, and long waves breaking over the shallows. Eden is then reached, and the odor of the pine-apple is perceptible in the air. A 
stop is made to allow passengers to go on shore and visit the pine-apple grove near-by, where that excellent fruit is cultivated successfully 
by a gentleman who first lost a fortune in the experiment. A mile below Eden St. Lucie Sound and River extend several miles inland 
towards Lake Okeechobee, twenty-five miles distant. It is proposed to connect the lake with this river by means of a canal, and thus drain 
the swamps and everglades of Southern Florida. Another shorter canal on the west would connect the lake with Caloosahat River, and 
thus two outlets would be afforded, which would speedily accomplish the purpose of the company that has undertaken the enterprise. 

















A BANANA GROVE IN FLORIDA. 















47 6 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



Twenty-five miles below Eden is Jupiter, the southern termination of Indian River, a little town that derives its importance from the 
Government light-house which stands before the inlet to warn vessels off the dangerous reefs outside. The surroundings, however, are 
very delightful, especially the beach, which is strewn with the prettiest ocean-shells that ever a pensive person gathered, including an 
occasional pearly nautilus, a perfect one of which we had the good fortune to find. Near-by is the Spouting Rock, a coquina formation that 
rises into a bank and which has been hollowed at the base by incessant dashing of the billows. Into this grotto the waves plunge with such 
force that they drive out through an opening in the top of the rock like a colossal fountain, and are scattered by the winds into a shower of 
rainbows. A narrow-gauge railroad runs south from Jupiter, a distance of eight miles, to Juno, its terminus on Lake Worth, where tourists 
take a steam launch for Palm 
Beach and are then in the land 
of the cocoanut. The voice of 
eloquence grows coarse when it 
attempts to paint the beauties 
of this o’er fair summer-land; 
a land where warm zephyrs stir 
the hazy air with breath of per¬ 
petual bloom, and sensuous 
perfumes fan the cheeks of lan¬ 
guorous day. In this Arcadian 
spot of beauty, where the air is 
passionate as a lover, wooing 
and kissing the flowers, tossing 
and embracing the fronds of 
the cocoa-trees, there is a joy 
like retrospection; a communion 
with the rapturous soul of 
nature; a commingling with the 
creatures of our sweetest fancy; 
a balmy, delicious sense of grati¬ 
fication that lulls and etherial- 
izes; that bridges the gulf 
between the real and the ideal; 
that builds substantial castles in 
clouds of gold, and makes every¬ 
thing a slave to our desires. 

The banks are pictures of beauty, the gardens are beds of perennial delight. Lake Worth is separated from the ocean by a strip of land 
less than half a mile wide, and this narrow tongue of what was once bare sand has been converted into a stretch of tropical exuberance. 
For a distance of four miles there is an unbroken glade of cocoanut-trees, while nearer to the sea-shore are banana groves, and trees bending 
to the ground with guavas, sapodillas, oranges, lemons and other tropical fruits. At intervals there are gardens full-bearing in February 
with beans, peas, tomatoes, and along the walks are flower-beds that flame with color and lade the atmosphere with nature’s incense. To 
walk through such a grove of fruitful delight is to fill the heart with ecstasy. 






THE ONE-OX SHAY IN FLORIDA. 














WINTER IN FLORIDA 



































A COCOANUT GROVE ON THE BANKS OF LAKE WORTH, FLORIDA. 





























4 7 8 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



The air of this southern region is not only languorous but, in the piney districts particularly, is balsamic, and hence thousands of 
consumptives go to Florida for relief which they cannot find elsewhere. The Everglades are not what they were formerly pictured to be 
before exploration revealed that instead of impenetrable swamps they are sections of very thickly timbered lands, whose only drawback 
are spiney-palmettos, which render travel through them very laborious. But at several places I saw parties of consumptives encamped 
not far from Indian River, and also in the vicinity of Lake Worth, where they spent their time in hunting and fishing, and claimed great 
benefits from the exercise as well as from the restoratives contained in the air. 

Returning from our trip down Indian River, we left the steamboat at Titusville and took train for Enterprise, at which point we 
embarked on boat for a run down 
the St. John’s River as far as 
Palatka. The journey was very 
different from that on Indian 
River, yet the sensation of pleasure 
was not wanting, for the stream, 
though the largest in Florida, is, 
nevertheless, characteristic, slug¬ 
gish, rather shallow and margined 
with a thick growth of timber and 
brush-wood. The landings, while 
more important than those on 
Indian River, are generally small 
villages whose principal popula¬ 
tion are negroes. The industries 
in Florida are not varied as in 
other States, but consist mainly of 
fruit growing, fishing and phos¬ 
phate digging. Manufacturing 
there is none, practically, and the 
people derive their largest revenue 
from tourists, who pay as much 
for oranges, cocoanuts and pine¬ 
apples at the places where they 
are growm as is charged for the 
fruit in our Northern cities. Yet 
there are signs of rapid growth in 

Florida, and the State has a bright future, for it is settling up at a marvelous pace, and with an excellent class of immigrants. 

About Palatka are many very fine orange groves, and the city is in a flourishing condition, largely through the business of fruit 
growing. In writing of the St. John’s River Mr. Edward King says, with truth well told: “The banks are low and flat, but bordered 
with a wealth of foliage to be seen nowhere else upon this continent. One passes for hundreds of miles through a grand forest of cypresses 
robed in moss and mistletoe; of palms towering gracefully far above the surrounding trees; of palmettos whose rich trunks gleam in the 
sun; of swamp, white and black ash, of magnolia, water-oak, poplar and plane trees; and where the hummocks rise a few feet above the 


SCENE ON THE OKLAWAHA RIVER, FLORIDA. 












AN ORANGE GROVE NEAR PALATKA, FLORIDA. 


















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


480 



water level, the sweet-bay, the olive, cotton-tree, juniper, red-cedar, sweet-gum, and live-oak shoot up their splendid stems; while among 
the shrubbery and inferior growths one may note the azalea, the sumach, sensitive plant, agave, poppy, mallow, and the nettle. The fox- 
grape clambers along the branches, and the woodbine and bignonia escalade the haughtiest forest monarch. When the steamer nears the 
shore, one can see far through the tangled thickets the gleaming water, out of which rise thousands of cypress knees, looking exactly like 
so many champagne bottles set into the current to cool. The heron and the crane saucily watch the shadow which the approaching boat 
throws near their retreat. The wary monster-turtle gazes for an instant, with his black head cocked knowingly on one side, then disap¬ 
pears with a gentle slide and splash. An alligator grins 
familiarly as a dozen revolvers are pointed at him over the 
boat’s side, sullenly winks with his tail, and vanishes, as the 
bullets meant for his tough hide skim harmlessly over the 
ripples left above him. For its whole length the river affords 
glimpses of perfect beauty. It is not grandeur which one finds 
on the banks of the great stream; it is nature run riot. The very 
irregularity is delightful, the decay is charming, the solitude 
is picturesque.” 

I may add to Mr. King’s description the regretable fact 
that the animate scenes which he pictured are no longer to be 
witnessed on the St. John’s River. The persecution of alliga¬ 
tors by travelers on the steamers has resulted in the practical 
extermination of those curious creatures in that stream. They 
are now protected by a State law, but it came too late; where 
alligators were plentiful five years ago they are now a curiosity, 
though in some parts of Florida, where travel is not heavy, 
their number is not yet diminished, but every year they are 
becoming scarcer, and in a little while they will no doubt be 
extinct. Not only are alligators persecuted for the mere sport 
of killing, but thousands are annually destroyed by professional 
hunters for their hides, which make an excellent leather. The 
taxidermist also finds his business increased by the sale of 
stuffed specimens to visitors from the North, while great num¬ 
bers of the young are caught and sold to the lovers of curious 
things for pets, all of which contribute to their rapid diminu¬ 
tion, and their total extinction is therefore a matter of only a 
short while. 

Palatka is a pretty town of 3,500 inhabitants, and 


EXCURSION LAUNCH ON THE RUN, FLORIDA. 


situated in the heart of the orange belt. Besides its picturesque sur¬ 
roundings and importance as a shipping point, it is healthfully located on high ground and in the midst of a piney region noted for the 
blandness of its climate. Florida has been transformed within the past very few years by the Plant railways from a state of comparatively 
sandy desolation, without roads through its dense growths, into a country of great advantages and thriftiness. Fruit trees have supplanted 
the coverts of palmetto, and there is health and prosperity abounding everywhere. The “Florida Cracker,” as her languid, backwoods, 
one-gallus type of slovenly, slow humanity is called, has not yet wholly disappeared, but the transition to more industrious and cultured 






















482 AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 

citizenship is going on, and it is particularly apparent about Palatka. The old-time conveyance of an ox in shafts hitched to a cart of 
uncertain age is not quite obsolete, but it survives more as a relic than as a thing of every-day service; and people who visit Florida on 
a winter trip, people in fine linen who are able to fare sumptuously, are more given to using the ox-cart, than are the permanent inhab¬ 
itants. In the mountain districts of Colorado tourists ride burros; in Florida they affect a preference for the harnessed ox. It is the 
influence of locality that diversifies custom. Another curiosity in Florida, peculiar alike to Cuba and the tropics generally, is the palmetto 
hut, an unsubstantial structure 
roofed and 1 ‘ weather-boarded ’ ’ 
with palmetto leaves, but which 
furnishes protection from the 
sun and rain. These huts are 
usually built to serve as tempo¬ 
rary abodes for orange-pickers, 
and are therefore usually within 
or near the groves. Through¬ 
out Florida it is the custom to 
sell the orange crop on the trees, 
the purchasers being fruit 
dealers from the North. These 
dealers employ trained pickers, 
who work throughout the sea¬ 
son, going from one grove to 
another, until the gathering is 
completed; usually they pro¬ 
vide their own supplies, like¬ 
wise their shelter, and the 
palmetto hut serves them both 
well and economically. When 
the fleas become so thick as to 
crowd the occupants, they burn 
the hut and build another. It 
is the cheapest way yet discov¬ 
ered of getting rid of these elu¬ 
sive pests. 

At Palatka we took boat 
for an excursion up the Ockla- 

waha River to Silver Spring and Ocala, the head of navigation on that stream. Of our many trips in the East, West and South, this 
proved to be the most unique, the most wonderful, the most sensationally picturesque. Ocklawaha River is at once a lagoon, a narrow 
lake, and a swamp, but at no place does it have the appearance of a flowing stream, for the current is scarcely perceptible. The shore-line 
is indicated by a profuse growth of water-vegetation and cypress knees, while at places the river is so narrow that lofty trees interlace their 
branches above the low smoke-stack of the boat. And what a boat! It is well adapted to the trade, and to that end is unlike any other 



SILVER SPRING AND OCKLAWAHA STEAMBOAT. 









HOME OF THE ORANGE-PICKERS IN FLORIDA 







AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


484 



steamer that ever sat in the water, a thing of indescribable shape, an object of surprise and curiosity. On this queer craft fifty people may 
ride in comfort during the day,while attention is attracted by the alligators, cranes, loons and snake-birds along the shore, but the night must 
be spent in vain regrets and fighting mosquitoes. No chance to get lonesome on this trip; there is too much to see in day-time and too much 
to do at night. But it is a novelty, an experience, a sensation worth more than the discomforts that must be endured. Along the Ocklawaha 
alligators are still plentiful, because shooting is not allowed from the boat, and there is no other way to approach them within gun-shot 
distance. The lazy monsters may be seen sunning their corrugated backs on nearly every log, and in their company huge water-snakes are 
often found, associated with big and little snapping-turtles, the three species forming a congenial but most repulsive family of reptilian 
cozensliip. The water being 
half-stagnant is black with a 
vegetable dissolution, and yet 
so transparent that the bottom 
may at times be seen. But if 
the creatures that haunt the 
river are offensive, the sight is 
compensated by the wonder 
which they excite; while the 
dense woods that margin the 
shore are resonant with the 
carol of birds and jewelled with 
their brilliant plumage. 

The trip is remarkably in¬ 
teresting, but the greatest 
charm that attaches to the 
stream is found when the boat 
reaches Silver Spring, the most 
exquisite pool that was ever 
rippled by dip of oar or 
skimmed by lap-wing. Tradi¬ 
tion tells us that this is the 
marvelous rejuvenating spring 
of which Ponce de Leon heard 
fabulous tales which lured him 
to the dark interior of Indian- 
infested Florida. If his eyes 

ever gazed into its crystalline deptns surely he must have believed that his quest for the magic fountain had been rewarded. The clearness 
of the water may be likened to the air itself, for at its greatest depth of eighty feet objects on the bottom may be clearly and distinctly seen, 
likewise the fissure through which the water pours up like a veritable fountain. A peculiarity of the spring is the prismatic colors which 
are reflected from any white or shiny object thrown into it. To test this curious fact I cast in a piece of broken crockery and watched with 
keenest interest the fragment as it sank in a zigzag motion to the bottom. No rainbow was ever so brilliant as the colors which flashed 
up from this piece of saucer, nor did ever jewel gleam with more scintillant beauty. 


SCENE ON THE SUWANNEE RIVER. 









A HOME IN THE SHADES OF SOUTHERN PINES, FLORIDA. 











486 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 



The flow from Silver Spring is so great that a deep river one hundred feet wide is formed, which, after a course of nine miles, joins 
the Oeklawaha. This stream is called the Run, and a little launch, or tug, plies over this short course, carrying visitors on an excursion 
which, if brief, is incomparably delightful. Five miles from Silver Spring is Ocala, on the Florida Southern Railroad, to which point we 
proceeded, and thence north and west by the Savannah, Florida and Western, and the Florida Central and Peninsular railroads to New 
Orleans. Ocala is on the border or north limit of the hummock lands, and thereafter the journey was through pine-barrens which are so infested 
with dwarf palmetto that it appears to be an impossible labor to clear it away. This is the home of the deer and likewise of the rattlesnake, 
very monsters of the latter being more plentiful than game; but north of Gainesville the country presents a change for the better, being 
much higher and undulating, 
with hills that are 300 or 400 
feet above the ocean level, and 
the soil is exceedingly fertile. 

The vegetation, too, loses its 
tropical character, orange 
groves disappear, and fields of 
tobacco and cotton occupy the 
landscape. 

At High Springs we crossed 
the Santa River, a tributary of 
the Suwannee; at New Brad¬ 
ford we touched the banks of 
that historic river, and at Ella- 
ville crossed the stream and 
halted there a day to pay to it 
the tribute of a respect aroused 
in every American heart by 
Foster’s mournful pastorale, 

“The Old Folks at Home.” 

Who has not heard “Way down 
upon the Suwannee River”? 
and who hearing the song has 
not tried to picture the desolate 
plantation and the dreary heart 
that went up and down the 
solitudes of the deserted cotton- 


A BAPTIZING IN THE SUWANNEE RIVER. 


field sighing for the old massa and missus, who will never call for Pompey again? In a small boat we rowed down the river, which was 
as still as death, and almost as motionless. The faint sound of a saw-mill at Ellaville was the only thing that gave reminder of our 
proximity to civilization, and when at length even this link was broken by distance, it seemed as if all creation had gone into mourning. 
The spell, while mournful, was yet dreamily charming, and instinctively, under the influence of such lonesome isolation, we sang with the 
fullness of appreciation, “The Old Folks at Home.” Never before had song such sweetness, never had one so much of sadness, to me; 
and when the last note died away there was a feeling of oppression in the silence that ensued. The old song brought up visions to which 













AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


487 


we w T ere unused: a fallow-field where once w T as bounty; a large white mansion with its long porch fallen in decay; a magnolia-tree with a 
mocking-bird's deserted nest ready to fall from its dead branches; two grave-stones, green with moss, in the pasture, and an old darkey 
bowed in prayer. The Suwannee has its source in Okefenokee Swamps, Georgia, and after running its course of nearly three hundred miles, 
empties into the Gulf of Mexico, just above Cedar Key. At some places the river has considerable width, but never sufficient depth to permit 
of navigation by any craft of considerable size. Its banks are occasionally high, as at Ellaville, but generally they are flat and overhung 
by oaks thickly festooned with moss. The current is sluggish and the water seldom clear, carrying as it does a thick vegetable solution. 
The stream is neither beautiful nor romantic, save as it acquires the reputation for being both through the song that has made it as famous 



A SECTION OF BIENVILLE PARK, MOBILE, ALABAMA. 


as our largest rivers. 

The country about Ella¬ 
ville is fairly well settled, 
though the place itself hardly 
ranks as a hamlet. We arrived 
on Saturday, and as no trains 
run on Sunday we were com¬ 
pelled to remain over, and at¬ 
tended church in the forenoon 
and witnessed a baptizing later 
in the day. The administra¬ 
tion of the ceremony proved to 
be a great event in the un¬ 
ruffled lives of the people, and 
many came long distances to 
witness the immersion of four 
candidates, three women and a 
man. The sight of a baptizing, 
while common enough, pos¬ 
sessed for us unusual interest 
because the place was Suwan¬ 
nee River, and having the con¬ 
sent of the officiating minister, 
we took a photograph of the 
crowd on shore, a heavy cloud 
overcasting the sun immedi¬ 
ately after, so that a picture 


could not be made of the baptizing. From Ellaville our journey was continued westward through Tallahassee and on to Mobile, where 
a short stop was made, and thence to New Orleans. Mobile is not only one of the oldest towns in the South, but is among the earliest 
settlements in America, the exact date of its founding being in dispute. The place is known to have been the original seat of the French 
colonization in the Southwest as early as 1702, but its growth was so slow that the Colonial Government was transferred to New Orleans in 


1723, and with the change, the little importance which it had acquired became lost, nor was it again recovered until the place became a 
rendezvous for corsairs under the infamous Lafitte, from 1810 to 1815. Its greatest prosperity, however, dates since the civil war, though some 












488 AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 

years preceding that troublous period Mobile bad become a considerable port, lier chief shipments being cotton, coal, lumber and naval stores. 

The entrance to Mobile Bay is commanded by Forts Morgan and Gaines, which are thirty miles below the city, and on the east side 
of Tensas River are the ruins of Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely, all of which played an important part in the defense of the city when it 
was attacked by Admiral Farragut, in August, 1864. One of the most desperate battles that was fought during the war took place in the 
harbor, when Farragut ran the blockade with a squadron of ten powerful men-of-war headed by his flagship, the Hartford , and encountered 
the Confederate fleet inside. One of the 
Union ships ran onto a torpedo and was 
instantly blown into fragments, but the other 
vessels met with little opposition until at the 
moment when Farragut thought the battle 
won, he saw with surprise the dark body of 
a strange vessel flying the Confederate flag 
and bearing down upon him at great speed, 
evidently intent upon ramming and sinking 
his ship. The Hartford , by a piece of good 
luck and skilful handling, managed to avoid 
the intended blow, and then followed an 
engagement that has few parallels in fierce¬ 
ness. The strange gun-boat proved to be 
the Tennessee , one of the most powerful and 
destructive that the Confederate Government 
had sent into service. The Union iron-clads 
closed around their black and terrible antag¬ 
onist and battered her with their heavy prows 
of steel until the unequal contest was ended 
by her surrender. Forts Gaines and Morgan 
were also captured, but Spanish Fort and 
Fort Blakely still defended the city, which re¬ 
sisted all efforts at its reduction until April 12, 

1865, three days after the surrender of Uee. 

Mobile has grown greatly since the war, 
and now has a population of nearly 35,000. 

It is situated on a sandy plain that rises into 
high and very graceful hills. Notwithstand¬ 
ing the barren shore as nature made it, the 
arts of man have supplied the deficiency of 
soil and made of the streets bowers of lovely shade, so charming that much of the city’s fame is due to the noble trees that arch all its 
streets. Bienville Park is one of the prettiest spots in southern lands, noted far and near alike for its massive live-oaks, magnificent 
magnolias, and handsome fountain, a place swathed in delicious airs and luxurious with the richest and most beautiful vegetation. 

Westward from Mobile the route was by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad along the Gulf border of Mississippi, through some of 



AVENUE OF TOMBS IN WASHINGTON CEMETERY, NEW ORLEANS. 












A PLANTATION HOME IN MISSISSIPPI 























































AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


49 ° 




the lovliest intervales that vision ever wandered over. The air is warm without debilitating sultriness, for the Gulf of Mexico tempers the 

atmosphere with refreshing humidity, and a constant breeze shakes the perfume out of flowering shrub and tree. Many beautiful places 

« 

are passed oil the run of one hundred and forty miles from Mobile to New Orleans, some of which are more or less noted as winter resorts, 
such as Ocean Springs, Biloxi, Beauvoir, Pass Christian, and Bay St. Louis. Beauvoir has a place in history as being the residence of 
Jefferson Davis for several years after the war, and where he died. The way is beautified also by many palatial homes and well-cultivated 
plantations that attest the thrift and prosperity of farmers of the New South. 

Between Pass Christian and Bay St. Louis the road crosses an inlet of St. Louis Bay on a steel trestle, and a few miles further west 
passes over Pearl River and enters Louisiana. The land is level, and cut up by innumerable bayous, and after crossing the narrow outlet 
of Lake Pontchartrain, called Pigolet’s, the road runs along a tongue of sea marsh for a few miles, then plunges into a dismal swamp, where 
the alligator’s bellow and the cormorant’s cry are the only sounds that disturb its stillness, save when a train goes growling by. “The sea 
marsh is dotted with many lakes, where green vegetable rafts of lotus leaves and lily pods turn slowly with the tide or float lazily about, 
blown by the breath of a salt breeze sweeping in from the Gulf. But in the ghostly gloom of the swamp, the forest trees are like an 
assemblage of monstrosities, great gnarled trunks and knotted arms of moss-draped oaks, clutching at the fan-shaped fronds of palmettos, 
while the mixture of crooked bodies and twisted leaf-stems of the latonia appear as if they were the bodies and outstretched arms of horned 
goblins appealing for release.” 

New Orleans is a very old city, settled by the French in 1718. Like other settlements of these early times, it has passed through 
many evil vicissitudes and been in turn a possession of France, Spain, and the United States. A singular thing in connection with the 
city is the fact that it is built upon ground that is considerably lower than the surface of the Mississippi during high water, and that it has 
no more substantial foundation than an alluvium deposit which has been going on for centuries, constantly extending into the Gulf, the 
point of outlet of the Mississippi. To prevent overflowing, the city is protected by a dyke, or levee, which is fifteen feet wide and fourteen 
feet high. This earth-wall follows the river’s crescent winding a distance of ten miles, while another extends across the rear to protect the 
city from Lake Pontchartrain. To secure a firm foundation for some of the large buildings, cotton-bales have been used on which to build, 
as piling is of no service. But that this character of basis is no disadvantage is proven by the fact that New Orleans is noted for its mammoth 
edifices, public, church and commercial, which give no sign of insecurity. The place is essentially cosmopolitan, for in no other city is the 
population more mixed, nearly every street being occupied by a different nationality. Commercially it is next to New York as an export 
city, and easily holds the honor of the leading cotton port of the country, from which one-fourth of the world’s supply is floated. She is like¬ 
wise a city of many charms and great historic interest. Within the city proper occurred a terrible scene following the rebellion of 1763 ? 
when France ceded the place to Spain, while at its southern outskirts is the battle-field on which Jackson won his glorious victory over the 
British under Packenham, January 8, 1815. The city passed through another storm of shot and shell in 1862, when Farragut compelled 
its capitulation after a terrible bombardment. But these scars have long since healed, and New Orleans, despite plagues and wars, has held 
her position as Queen City of the South and one of the great metropoli of America, with a population now of 250,000, which is rapidly 
increasing. While New Orleans is famous for the romance with which her history is invested, for her immense importance as an export 
city, and also for the beauty of her parks and magnificence of her private residences, the curiosity of strangers is no less attracted by her 
cemeteries, which are unlike those of any others in the world. In earlier times it was the custom thereto bury the dead in shallow graves, 
but this practice was finally abandoned for the more sacred and sanitary one of enclosing the bodies in tombs above the ground, and then 
hermetically sealing up the mortuary cell. This became a necessity because of the nature of the soil, where water is reached at a depth 
of two feet below the surface. Some of these tombs are mausoleums made of stone or iron and of beautiful architectural designs, but the 
more common form of disposition of the dead is in a wall pierced by cells large enough to contain a coffin, one above the other, to a height 
of seven or eight feet. There are thirty-three such cemeteries in New Orleans, in one of which (Greenwood) is a monument to the 
Confederate dead; and in another, the National, at Chalmette, the Union dead are similarly honored. 



FAIRY GROTTO, MAMMOTH CAVE 






492 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 

Having completed our work in New Orleans, and a tour of the Southeast, or at least that portion which is noted for its semi-tropical 
characteristics and great picturesqueness, we took train on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad for Mammoth Cave, to make an inspection 
and photographic tour of that world-wonderful natural curiosity. To reach the Cave our route was northeast through Birmingham, 
Nashville, and thence to Glasgow Junction, at which point connection is made with a little spur of the Louisville and Nashville Road, which 
runs directly to the Cave, a distance of twelve miles from the Junction. Mammoth Cave is in the eastern part of Edmondson county, 
Kentucky, eighty-five miles south of Louisville, and its entrance is in a forest ravine nearly two hundred feet above Green River, where 
the banks are very steep and high. It is said to have been discovered in 1809 by a hunter named Hutchins, while pursuing a wounded 
bear that had taken refuge in a wide crevice that led directly into a broad chamber of the Cave. The history of this discovery is not 
sufficiently definite to enable us to know which one of the two points of entrance was thus accidentally found. The present opening used 
is in the ravine mentioned, but the original mouth is believed to have been the aperture that is nearly a quarter of a mile above, and leads 
into what is known as Dixon’s Cave, a disconnected branch of Mammoth Cavern. 

Luray Caverns are lighted by electricity, so that photographing its many chambers and beautiful stalactitic formations is easily 
accomplished; but though Mammoth Cave is the largest and best known of the world’s great subterranean recesses, and visited by about 
6,000 persons annually, no provision has been made for lighting, beyond the crude method of guides who carry torches and candles. To 
photograph its dark rivers, avenues, configurations, and strange sculpturings many attempts have been made by the aid of magnesium 
lights, but without satisfactory results until Mr. Ben. Hains, of New Albany, Indiana, made special and most careful preparations to do 
the work which had so often failed in the hands of others. Several weeks were spent in the cave testing the powerful artificial lights 
which he had provided, and by dint of perseverance he was at last rewarded by the most perfect results. To this enterprising gentleman 
we are indebted for the use of the photographs from which our reproductions are made. 

Mammoth Cave first came into notice and importance about the year 1812, when it was discovered that the cave contained vast beds 
of niter, sufficient, as was stated at the time, to supply the whole population of the globe with saltpeter. Gratz and Williams were the 
owners, and established a very large industry in collecting the nitrous earth by means of ox-carts and shipping it to Philadelphia, where it 
was used in manufacturing the gun-powder that enabled us to triumph over England a second time. The region is essentially cavernous, 
as Professor Shaler estimates that in this carboniferous limestone district of Kentucky “there are at least 100,000 miles of open caverns,” 
but very few of the five hundred caves and grottoes of Edmondson county contain nitrons earth. On the other hand, there have been very 
few evidences of prehistoric occupancy discovered in Mammoth Cave, while in Salt Cave, its neighbor, and almost a rival in size, arcliaeo- 
logic remains, such as fire-places, burnt torches, sandals, and moccasin-prints are numerous; and in Short Cave, also near-by, the mummi¬ 
fied bodies of several small animals and a few human remains have been found. White Cave is half a mile from the Mammoth Cave entrance, 
and the two may be connected, though the communication has not been discovered. But there is a decided difference in the formations that 
characterize the two. White Cave is in some respects similar to Luray Caverns in its exquisitely charming variety of stalactites. In the 
first chamber, “ Little Bat Room,” as it is called, we find many lovely creations and a few objects of great interest to paleontologists. In 
the second room is a piece of stalactitic drapery, which has been very appropriately called the “Frozen Cascade.” “Humboldt’s Pillar” 
and “ Bishop’s Dome” are other wonderful examples of the effects of slowly percolating water bearing lime in solution. In this same cave, 
some seventy years ago, were found huge fossil bones, of the megalonyx, or giant sloth, bear, bison, and stag, and scattered among these 
animal remains were a few human bones. 

But while the adjacent caves each possess an interest peculiar to themselves, Mammoth Cave must continue to remain the most 
remarkable cavern in our country, not only for its size, but likewise for the marvels which exploration of its labyrinthine avenues has 
revealed. To Professor H. C. Hovey’s admirable and scientific description of the Cave I acknowledge my indebtedness for a larger part of 
the information here imparted, from which, also, liberal extracts are made, though without quotation credit. 

The entrance to Mammoth Cave is arched by a rock-span of seventy feet, thence leading by an easy descent down a winding flight 



OLD STONE HOUSE, MAMMOTH CAVE, 




















494 


AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


of stone steps to a narrow passage through which the air rushes outward with great force in summer and is drawn inward with corresponding 
violence during the winter, a phenomenon due to the inequality of temperature between the air inside and out of the Cave, for the tempera¬ 
ture of the Cave is uniformly 54° Fahrenheit at all times. The atmosphere being thus constantly agitated, is kept constantly pure, for 
while the lower levels are moist, being no doubt connected with Green River, the upper avenues and galleries are always dry; conditions 
which were one time thought to be particularly favorable to consumptives, as well as to those suffering from other wasting diseases. The 
experiment was therefore made, some forty years ago, of building thirteen stone houses at a point one mile within the Cave, in which a 
number of invalids took up their domicile and lived there in deep seclusion until it was demonstrated that whatever might be the salubrity 
of the atmosphere, consumptives derived no benefit from it, a number dying in the Cave. Relics of two of these stone huts still remain, 
but they exist now only as curiosities, no one having spent a night in one of them formally years. 

The main cave is from 40 to 300 feet wide and from 35 to 125 feet high, divided into a great number of rooms and winding avenues, 
the extern of which has not yet been determined, for exploration of the Cave is far from being complete. Some of the best known rooms 
are, first, the Rotunda, in which are ruins of the old saltpeter works, and where the skeletons of two men were found several years ago. 
Beyond this is the Star Chamber, where the protrusion of white crystals through a coating of black oxide of manganese creates an optical 
illusion of great beauty. Another department is called the Chief City, a chamber of nearly two acres space, with a vaulted roof 125 feet 
high. The floor is bestrewn with rocks, among which have been found charred torches of cone, and a few other evidences of prehistoric 
occupancy. There are also shown some mummified bodies, preseved by their inhumation in nitrous earth, utensils, ornaments, braided 
sandals, and other relics, but all of these were found in Salt and Short Caves, near-by, and removed to Mammoth Cave for exhibition. The 
main cave ends four miles from the entrance, but is joined to other spacious chambers by winding passages leading to different levels, so 
that while the cavern area is perhaps less than ten miles, the total length of the avenues is supposed to be 150 miles. 

The chief places of interest are found along two main lines of the explored portions, from which side excursions may be made. 
The “short route” maybe covered in about four hours, but it requires nine hours to traverse what is known as the “ long route.” 
Audubon Avenue is the first leadway, interesting for the swarms of bats that hang in huge clusters from the ceiling, but it is not until 
Gothic Avenue is reached that stalactites and stalagmites are met with. This passage leads into the Chapel, at the end of which is a beauti¬ 
ful double dome and cascade; thence we pass into the Throne-Room, with its royal formations of surprising splendors, which compel visitors 
to stop, and elicits exclamations of wonder and admiration. The Bridal Altar is almost equally grand,with its frosted pillars of pearl-white, 
and the convolutions of their magnificent pediments that may be likened to clouds in the sky of cave. Indeed, these vertical shafts or 
petrified columns are among the most surprising features of cave scenery. They are not confined to the Bridal Altar, however, for they 
pierce through all levels, from the uppermost galleries to the lowest floors, and even find lodgment in the sink-holes. 

A block of stone that is forty feet long by twenty feet wide is called the Giant’s Coffin, and when viewed from a certain angle the 
resemblance to a funeral casket is so great that even if attention were not called to it, visitors would hardly fail to be a little shocked by 
the sight. There is a narrow passage-way around the coffin,which followed leads to a large vault called Gorin’s Dome, in which there are 
six pits varying in depth from 65 to 220 feet; truly, awful pits to fall into. Notwithstanding the treacherous character of the floor, Gorin’s 
Dome is one of the finest chambers in the Cave, for it is charmingly festooned and pillared with stalactitic formations. Mammoth Dome, 
which is at the termination of Sparks Avenue, is probably more interesting, because besides having its walls draped with a marvelous 
tapestry, the great wonder of the room is immensely increased and beautified by a cataract, which falls from a height of 250 feet and fills 
the apartment with its musical splashings. The Egyptian Temple, which is a continuation of the Mammoth Dome, contains six massive 
columns, two of which are quite perfect and eighty feet high by twenty-five feet in diameter. Lucy’s Dome, which is three hundred feet 
high, is the loftiest of these monster shafts, the eqnal of which cannot be found in any known cave in the world. 

The Maelstrom, in Croghan’s Hall, is one of the deepest and most awful-appearing pits yet discovered, and until 1859 no one had 
ever ventured to explore its dark recesses. It is at a remote point in the Cave and seldom visited, because the way is beset with obstacles. 



GIANT’S COFFIN, MAMMOTH CAVE, KENTUCKY 





















AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


496 

while the sight is neither reassuring nor compensating. A son of George D. Prentice, however, braved the dangers of the pit by permitting 
some of his friends to lower him 190 feet by a rope to the bottom, but his experience was of little value, because he found nothing of 
interest to reward him for the trouble. Some pretty stalactites are near this pit, and also in Fairy Grotto, but in the deeper recesses there 
is a remarkable absence of these formations. Indeed, considering the character and extent of Mammoth Cave, its poverty of stalactitic 
ornamentation is surprising. On the other hand, it contains an unexampled wealth of crystals of endless variety and incomparable beauty. 
Besides the sparkling vault of the Star Chamber, which is 300 feet long and 80 feet high, there are halls canopied by fleecy clouds, or 
studded by mimic snow-balls, and others displaying various grotesque resemblances on the walls and ceilings. Cleveland’s Cabinet, and 
Marion’s Avenue, each a mile long, are adorned by myriads of gypsum rosettes and curiously twisted crystals called “ oulopliolites.” These 
cave-flowers are unfolded by pressure, like a sheaf of wheat forced through a tight binding. This charming embellishment of clusters and 
garlands is frequently seen curling outward, like roses, composing petrified bouquets that cover the snowy arches. 

This curious feature is even more marked by the stalactites in Mary’s Vineyard, where they appear in the form of an aggregation of 
spherical prominences, resembling clusters of grapes. Other chambers are drifted with snowy crystals of sulphate of magnesia, and the 
ceilings are so thickly covered with their efflorescence that a sharp concussion of the air will cause them to fall like flakes in a snow-storm. 

Many small rooms and tortuous paths, where danger lies, are avoided as much as possible; but even on the regular routes through the 
Cave some disagreeable experiences are inevitable, while about the deep pits peril is always present. The one now known as the Bottom¬ 
less Pit was for many years a barrier to all further exploration, and until a substantial wooden bridge was built across it. Long before the 
shaft had been cut as deep as now, the water flowed away by a channel gradually contracting until at a point called The Fat Man’s Misery 
the walls were only eighteen inches apart. The rocky sides are beautifully marked with waves and ripples, as if running water had been 
suddenly petrified. This winding-way conducts to River Hall, beyond which lie the crystalline gardens that have been described. It was 
formerly believed that if this narrow passage were closed, escape would be impossible; but a few years ago a tortuous fissure called the 
Cork-Screw was discovered, by means of which a good climber ascending a few hundred feet finally lands 1,000 yards from the mouth of 
the Cave, and cuts off nearly two miles. 

The waters, entering through numerous domes and pits, and falling, during the rainy season, in cascades of great volume, are finally 
collected in River Hall, where they form several extensive lakes, or rivers, whose connection with Green River is known to be in two deep 
springs appearing under arches on its margin. Whenever there is a freshet in Green River the streams in the cave are joined in a 
continuous body of water, the rise sometimes being as much as sixty feet above the low-water mark. The subsidence within is less rapid 
than the rise; and the streams are impassable during a greater part of the year. They are usually navigable from May to October, and 
furnish exceedingly interesting as well as novel features of cave scenery. The largest body of water is called the Dead Sea, embraced 
within a basin formed by cliffs sixty feet high, above which a path has been made which leads to a stairway and thence to the River Styx, 
a body of water that is four hundred feet long and forty feet wide. Lake Lethe is the next water-basin, enclosed by walls ninety feet high, 
below which is a path that conducts to a pontoon at the neck of the lake. Thence a beach of the finest yellow sand extends for 500 yards 
to Echo River, the largest of all, being nearly one mile long, from 20 to 200 feet broad, and varying in depth from 10 to 40 feet. Two or 
three boats are placed on this Lethean or Stygian stream, in which visitors are taken from one end of the river to the other, and the trip 
is of such novelty that the remembrance of it is imperishable. To see the boats approaching, in the weird light of flickering torches, is 
like a vision of a spectral crew, funereal, sepulchral and almost horrific. The arch overhead is symmetrical but irregular in height, and is 
famous for its musical reverberations—not a distinct echo, for the repetitions are so rapid that they merge and become a prolongation of 
sound that continues for nearly half a minute. The long vault has a certain key-note of its own, which, when sounded, produces harmonies, 
of almost incredible depth and sweetness. 

In these Plutonian regions of perpetual night, where vegetation is only imaged by petrified efflorescence, many creatures find a 
congenial abode, and become so accustomed to this dark habitat that they cannot live elsewhere. Of the twenty-eight different species 



THE BRIDAL ALTAR, MAMMOTH CAVE 























AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


498 

here found, the most remarkable are a blind and wingless grasshopper with extremely long attennae; a blind and colorless cray-fish, and a 
blind fish which grows to the length of six inches. These fish possess the additional curiosity of being viviparous, or producing their 
young in a living state, instead of by eggs. Occasionally other fish are caught in the running streams of the Cave which are identical with 
species common in Green River, thus proving the subterranean connection that exists between that river and the Cave streams. 

The strongly marked divergence of these blind creatures from those found on the outside led Agassiz to believe that they were 
specially created for the limits within which they dwell; but the opinion now generally held is that they are modifications of allied species 
existing in the sunlight, and that their peculiarities are to be accounted for on the principles of evolution—the process of change being 
accelerated, or retarded, by their migration from the outer w’orld to a region of silence and perpetual darkness. 

Having concluded our examination of Mammoth Cave, we departed by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad for Louisville, at 
which city train was taken on the St. Louis Air Line for Wyandotte Cave, which was to be our last objective point in completing our 
extensive photographic tour of America. This very remarkable Cave, though not so generally known as Luray or Mammoth, is about ten 
miles south of the Louisville and St. Louis Air Line, in Crawford county, Indiana, and is only five miles from the Ohio River. We reached 
the Cave by way of Milltown, thence to Corydon, and from that point by private conveyance a distance of eleven miles. Entrance to the 
Cave is by way of a large opening in a hillside, the aperture being about six feet high and twenty feet wide, through which there is 
always a strong circulation of air like that noted at the mouth of Mammoth Cave, while the temperature is likewise uniformly 54° 
Fahrenheit. A short avenue leads into a chamber known as Fanned Hall, whose dimensions are 200 feet long, 50 feet wide and 25 feet 
high; thence the route conducts through Twilight Hall into Columbian Arch, which resembles a railroad tunnel, so symmetrical is the 
excavation. Washington Avenue is next entered, which, followed, brings the visitor to Banditti Hall, where the ceiling rises to an 
immense height, and the walls are jagged, as is the floor, with protruding rocks, so that this chamber is both forbidding in appearance and 
■difficult to traverse. At this point the main gallery branches, one avenue leading to what is known as the Old Cave, and the other 
conducting by a longer route to more interesting apartments than those before passed. Through a narrow crevice the visitor gains a room 
called the Bats’ Lodge, and beyond this is Rugged Mountain, which is in the center of a circular room, w r here Epsom salts of sparkling 
purity and vast quantities of gypsum in efflorescent beauty cover the arched vault. Seen under torch-light the effect is indescribably 
magnificent, and is the first striking intimation which the visitor receives of the extraordinary grandeur to which he will be presently 
introduced. Following the long route we cross a lovely sand-deposit known as the Plain, but find an abrupt termination of this level walk and' 
are compelled to climb the rock-bestrewn Hill of Difficulty, then squeeze through a small passage-way from which we find present relief by 
emerging into Wallace’s Grand Dome, one of the most magnificent chambers, as w r ell as the largest, in the Cave, being 245 feet high and 
300 feet in diameter. In the center is Monument Mountain, a tremendous stalagmite formation above which is an immense dome 
beflowered with curling leaves of gypsum that bear a w T ondrous likeness to the foliage of the acanthus. At the apex of the mountain is a 
stalagmite one hundred and twenty feet in circumference, which has been broken by some force into three columns, which, viewed from 
the base, admirably counterfeit three monuments, or ghosts clad in robes of gleaming whiteness, from which fact the chamber takes its 
name. Visitors are usually treated to a superbly grand sight while examining the splendors of this hall, for the guide disposes his 
company about the base of the mountain, and ascending to the summit he extinguishes his torch in order to bring the visitors under the 
influence of dense darkness for a few moments. Suddenly the peak is lighted up with a dazzling splendor, as the guide touches off 
green, blue, red and orange lights, bathing the chamber in a sea of flaming beauty and bejewelling its lofty arch until Aladdin’s Cave of our 
imagination is reproduced. 

Beyond Wallace’s Dome there are a hundred halls of great magnificence, in nearly all of which are seen fantastic examples of 
stalactite formations, and marvelous decorations of whitest gypsum, Milroy’s Temple being a very exhibition-room of these exquisite 
curiosities: huge rocks, overhung by galleries of creamery stalactites, vermicular tubes intertwined, frozen cataracts and vine-like pendant 
forms of stalactites, cluster along the walls in a profusion almost incredible. Imagine great masses of white delicate branching coral, 



THE RIVER STYX, MAMMOTH CAVE, KENTUCKY 

















MONUMENT MOUNTAIN IN WALLACE’S DOME, WYANDOTTE CAVE, INDIANA. 















ENTRANCE TO PILLARED PALACE, WYANDOTTE CAVE. 
































m A / 

'tin 


mi 


jm 

F I .a 


ABE 


;^y| l % 



THE THRONE, WYANDOTTE CAVE 










AMERICA’S WONDERLANDS. 


5°3 

twisting, curling and interlacing itself, serpent-like, into every conceivable fantastic shape, and you have only a faint idea of the truly 
extraordinary scenery of this glorious temple erected by nature. Other halls of almost rival splendor are known as Snowy Cliffs, Frosted 
Rocks, Fairy Palace, Beauty’s Bower, The Throne, and Pillared Palace, in all of which gypsum and stalactites occur in the most charming 
and imposing forms. Pillared Palace is particularly entrancing in its sumptuous and architecturally beautiful decorations. It is from 
five to six feet high, forty or fifty feet wide and several hundred feet long. Its ceiling is a complete fringe-work of stalactites, while its 
floor is as thickly set with stalagmites, many of which latter unite with the former, making the grandest pillars. Drapery of even- 
conceivable style may be seen, some of which is as transparent as crystal and rings like a silver bell when exposed to a light blow. 
After Pillared Palace comes the Palace of the Genii, which for delicate formations even excels the former. Here are found stalactites 
of every conceivable form, many of them as white as if they were made of sugar or whitest marble. 

Passing through Fairy Grotto, Neptune’s Retreat, and Hermit’s Cell, the visitor enters a larger chamber invested with the same 
charming ornamentation, and in the center is a rich canopy of stalactite overhanging a stalagmite which has been likened by some 
imaginative person to a chair richly upholstered. This is called the Throne, a designation appropriate enough, for it is one of the most 
royally beautiful curiosities in the Cave, as the illustration will show. 

That portion known as the Old Cave, while scarcely so interesting as the galleries and vaults of the long route, contains several 
halls of much interest and one, called the Senate Chamber, which rivals Wallace’s Dome. In the center of this room stands a mountain 
whose top is covered many feet deep with stalactite formations, upon which stands the Pillar of the Constitution. This is an immense 
stalagmite measuring seventy-five feet in circumference and thirty feet high, reaching from the top of the mountain to the ceiling above, 
fluted and carved after a manner that would have put to shame the most extravagant architecture of Rome’s most halcyon days. The 
world has not yet produced, so far as civilized man knows, anything of the kind to equal it. A writer says of it: 

“Before us arose a considerable hill, upon the top of which stood, like a column supporting the ceiling, a vast stalagmite like an 
immense spectral-looking iceberg looming up before us, appearing as though it had just arisen from the foaming waves of the ocean, on a 
dark and foggy night. In the uncertain light of our lamps it presented an appearance grand, if not appalling; but when the Drummond 
light had been set off, all this changed to the most unearthly beauty. The ceiling above, with its long fringes of stalactites, came out to 
view, and the great pillar could be seen in all its grandeur aud beauty.” 

Beyond this is Pluto’s Ravine, where stands Stallasso’s Monument, a large white stalagmite, marked all over with pencil inscrip¬ 
tions, some of them sixty years old, composing an autograph album of wonderful curiosity, containing hundreds of names which to fame 
are otherwise unknown, and effusions of doggerel poets whose reputations, alas, will no doubt be forever restricted to the limits of this cave 
chamber. A short distance beyond Pluto’s Ravine is the termination of this section of the Cave, and from this point return is made to the 
open air. A ramble among the subterranean glories and petrified splendors of Wyandotte Cave was a fitting conclusion to one of the most 
interesting tours that was ever taken through the picturesque regions of our country; a tour affording so much information, pleasure, 
adventure, and profit, that the remembrance must forever remain a source of intense satisfaction and delight. It was with feelings of deep 
regret that we separated after the completion of our work, aud each returned to his respective home, to take up anew the old labor which 
we had laid down when the start was made upon our long journey. During the trip our photographers took five thousand pictures; many 
of these were taken under unfavorable conditions, aud upon development were found unworthy of reproduction. Many others were 
excellent and well deserving to rank with those which we have here used, but there is a limit to all things, aud ours does not exceed the 
space occupied by the 520 odd views which we have presented; these, however, are fairly representative of the incomparable scenery that 
charmingly diversifies our native land, a land kissed by the lips of liberty, bounty, and beauty, and blessed with an amplitude of 
powers, under the exercise of which the largest freedom, benefits and sovereign rights are obtained for the whole people. 

































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